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IN  THE  DAYS  OF  DRAKE. 


In  the  Days  of  Drake 


BY 

J.  S.  FLETCHER, 

AUTHOR  OF 

"When  Charles  I.  was  King,"  "Where 
Highways  Cross.  " 


Chicago  and  New  York  -. 

RAND,  McNALLY  &  COMPANY. 

MDCCCXCVII. 


Copyright,  1897,  by  Rand,  McNally  &  Co. 


INTRODUCTION. 

In  the  whole  history  of  the  English  peo- 
ple there  is  no  period  so  absolutely  heroic, 
so  full  of  enthralling  interest,  as  that  in 
which  the  might  of  England  made  itself  ap- 
parent by  land  and  sea — the  period  which 
saw  good  Queen  Bess  mistress  of  English 
hearts  and  Englishmen  and  sovereign  of 
the  great  beginnings  which  have  come  to 
such  a  magnificent  fruition  under  Victoria. 
That  was  indeed  a  golden  time — an  age  of 
great  venture  and  enterprise — a  period 
wherein  men's  hearts  were  set  on  per- 
sonal valor  and  bravery — the  day  of  great 
deeds  and  of  courage  most  marvelous.  To 
write  down  a  catalogue  of  all  the  names 
that  then  were  glorious,  to  make  a  list  of 
all  the  daring  deeds  that  then  were  done — 
this  were  an  impossible  task  for  the  most 
painstaking  of  statisticians,  the  most  con- 


6  IN   THE    DAYS    OF   DRAKE. 

scientious  of  historians  and  chroniclers. 
For  there  were  men  in  those  days  who 
achieved  world-wide  fame,  such  as  Drake, 
Frobisher,  Hawkins,  Raleigh,  Grenville, 
and  Gilbert — but  there  were  also  other 
men,  the  rough  "sea-dogs"  of  that  time, 
whose  names  have  never  been  remem- 
bered, or  even  recorded,  and  who  were  yet 
heroes  of  a  quality  not  inferior  to  their 
commanders  and  leaders.  All  men  of  that 
age  whose  calling  led  them  to  adventure 
and  enterprise  could  scarcely  fail  to  find 
opportunity  for  heroism,  self-denial,  and 
sacrifice,  and  thus  the  Elizabethan  Eng- 
lishman of  whatever  station  stands  out  to 
us  of  these  later  days  as  a  great  figure — 
the  type  and  emblem  of  the  England  that 
was  to  be.  It  is  this  fact  that  makes  the 
Elizabethan  period  so  fascinating  and  so 
full  of  romance  and  glamour.  Whenever 
we  call  it  up  before  our  mind's  eye  it  is 
surrounded  for  us  with  all  those  qualities 
which  go  toward  making  a  great  picture. 


INTRODUCTION.  7 

There  is  the  awful  feud  'twixt  England, 
the  modern  spirit  making  toward  progress 
and  civilization,  and  Spain,  the  well-nigh 
worn-out  retrogressive  force  that  would 
dam  the  river  of  human  thought.  There 
is  the  spectacle  of  the  Armada,  baffled  and 
beaten,  and  of  the  English  war-ships  un- 
der men  like  Drake  and  Frpbisher,  drop- 
ping like  avenging  angels  upon  some 
Spanish  port  and  working  havoc  on  the 
Spanish  treasure  galleons.  There,  too, 
are  the  figures  of  men  like  Grenville  and 
Raleigh,  born  adventurers,  leaders  of  men, 
who  knew  how  to  die  as  bravely  and  fear- 
lessly as  they  had  lived.  And  beyond  all 
the  glory  and  adventure  there  looms  in  the 
background  of  the  picture  the  black  cruel- 
ties of  Spain,  practiced  in  the  dark  corners 
of  the  earth,  against  which  the  English 
spirit  of  that  day  never  ceased  from  pro- 
testing with  speech  and  sword.  It  was 
well  for  the  world  that  in  that  fierce  con- 
test England  triumphed.     Had  Spain  sue- 


8  IN   THE    DAYS   OF    DRAKE. 

ceeded  in  perpetuating  its  hellish  system, 
how  different  would  life  in  east  and  west 
have  been!  But  it  was  God's  will  that  not 
Spain  but  England  should  win — and  so  to- 
day we  find  the  English-speaking  peoples 
of  the  world  in  Great  Britain  and  America, 
in  Australia  and  Africa,  free,  enlightened, 
full  of  great  purpose  and  noble  aims,  work- 
ing out  in  very  truth  their  own  salvation. 
It  is  when  one  comes  to  think  of  this,  that 
one  first  realizes  the  immeasurable  thanks 
due  to  the  heroes,  known  and  unknown, 
of  the  Elizabethan  age.  Whether  they 
stand  high  on  the  scroll  of  fame  or  lie  for- 
gotten in  some  quiet  graveyard  or  in  the 
vast  oceans  which  they  crossed,  it  was 
they,  and  they  only,  who  laid  the  great 
foundations  of  the  England  and  the  United 
States  of  to-day. 

J.  S.  FLETCHER. 


IN  THE  DAYS  OF  DRAKE. 


CHAPTER  I. 

OF  MY  HOME,  FRIENDS,  AND  SURROUND- 
INGS. 

Now  that  I  am  an  old  man,  and  have 
some  leisure,  which  formerly  I  did  not  en- 
joy, I  am  often  minded  to  write  down  my 
memories  of  that  surprising  and  remark- 
able adventure  of  mine,  which  began  In 
the  year  1578,  and  came  to  an  end,  by 
God's  mercy,  two  years  later. 

There  are  more  reasons  than  one  why  I 
should  engage  in  this  task.  Every  Christ- 
mas brings  a  houseful  of  grandchildren  and 
young  folks  about  me,  and  they,  though 
they  have  heard  it  a  dozen  times  already, 
are  never  tired  of  hearing  me  re-tell  the 
story  which  seems  to  them  so  wonderful. 

Then,  again,  I  am  often  visited  by  folk 


10  IN    THE    DAYS    OF    DRAKE. 

who  have  heard  of  my  travels,  and  would 
fain  have  particulars  of  them  from  my  own 
lips;  so  that  ofttimes  I  have  to  tell  my  tale, 
or  part  of  it,  a  dozen  times  in  the  year. 
Nay,  upon  one  occasion  I  even  told  it  to 
the  King's  majesty,  which  was  when  I 
went  up  to  London  on  some  tiresome  law 
business.  Sir  Ralph  Wood,  who  is  my 
near  neighbor  and  a  Parliament  man,  had 
mentioned  me  to  the  King,  and  so  I  had 
to  go  to  Whitehall  and  tell  my  story  before 
the  court,  which  was  a  hard  matter  for  a 
plain-spoken  country  gentleman,  as  you 
may  well  believe. 

Now  all  these  matters  have  oft  prompted 
me  to  write  down  my  story,  so  that  when 
any  visitor  of  mine  might  ask  me  for  it,  I 
could  satisfy  him  without  trouble  to  my- 
self, by  simply  putting  the  manuscript  into 
his  hand  and  bidding  him  read  what  I  had 
there  written.  But  until  this  present  time 
I  have  never  seemed  to  have  opportun- 
ity such  as  I  desired,  for  my  duties  as  mag- 


IN   THE    DAYS   OF   DRAKE.  11 

istrate  and  church-warden  have  been 
neither  hght  nor  unimportant.  Now  that 
I  have  resigned  them  to  younger  hands,  I 
have  leisure  time  of  my  own,  and  therefore 
I  shall  now  proceed  to  carry  out  the  inten- 
tion which  has  been  in  my  mind  for  many 
years. 

I  was  born  at  York,  in  the  year  1558. 
My  father,  Richard  Salkeld,  was  the 
youngest  son  of  Oliver  Salkeld,  lord-of- 
the-manor  of  Beechcot-on-the-Wold,  and 
he  practiced  in  York  as  an  attorney. 
Whether  he  did  well  or  ill  in  this  calling  I 
know  not,  for  at  the  early  age  of  six  years 
I  was  left  an  orphan.  My  father  being 
seized  by  a  fever,  my  mother  devoted  her- 
self to  nursing  him,  which  was  a  right  and 
proper  thing  to  do;  but  the  consequence 
was  disastrous,  for  she  also  contracted  the 
disease,  and  they  both  died,  leaving  me 
alone  in  the  world. 

However,  I  was  not  long  left  in  this  sad 
condition,  for  there  presently  appeared  my 


12  IN   THE    DAYS   OF   DRAKE. 

uncle,  Sir  Thurstan  Salkeld  of  Beechcot, 
who  settled  my  father's  affairs  and  took 
me  away  with  him.  I  was  somewhat  afraid 
of  him  at  first,  for  he  was  a  good  twenty 
years  older  than  my  father,  and  wore  a 
grave,  severe  air.  IMoreover,  he  had  been 
knighted  by  the  Queen  for  his  zealous  con- 
duct in  administering  the  law.  But  I  pres- 
ently found  him  to  be  exceeding  kind  of 
heart,  and  ere  many  months  were  over  I 
had  grown  fond  of  him,  and  of  Beechcot. 
He  had  never  married,  and  was  not  likely 
to,  and  so  to  the  folks  round  about  his 
home  he  now  introduced  me  as  his  adopted 
son  and  heir.  And  thus  things  went  very 
pleasantly  for  me,  and,  as  children  will,  I 
soon  forgot  my  early  troubles. 

I  think  we  had  nothing  to  cause  us  any 
vexation  or  sorrow  at  Beechcot  until 
Dame  Barbara  Stapleton  and  her  son  Jas- 
per came  to  share  our  lot.  Jasper  was 
then  a  lad  of  my  own  age,  and  like  me  an 
orphan,  and  the  nephew  of  Sir  Thuistan. 


IN   THE    DAYS    OF    DRAKE.  13 

His  mother,  Sir  Thurstan's  sister,  had  mar- 
ried Devereux  Stapleton,  an  officer  in  the 
Queen's  household,  and  when  she  was  left 
a  widow  she  returned  to  Beechcot  and 
quartered  herself  and  her  boy  on  her 
brother.  Thereafter  we  had  trouble  one 
way  or  another,  for  Dame  Barbara  could 
not  a-bear  to  think  that  I  was  preferred 
before  her  own  boy  as  Sir  Thurstan's  heir. 
Nor  did  she  scruple  to  tell  Sir  Thurstan 
her  thoughts  on  the  matter,  on  one  occa- 
sion at  any  rate,  for  I  heard  them  talking 
in  the  great  hall  when  they  fancied  them- 
selves alone. 

"  'Tis  neither  right  nor  just,"  said  Dame 
Barbara,  "that  you  should  make  one 
nephew  your  son  and  heir  to  the  exclusion 
of  the  other.  What !  is  not  Jasper  as  much 
your  own  flesh  and  blood  as  Humphrey?" 

"You  forget  that  Humphrey  is  a  Salkeld 
in  name  as  well  as  in  blood,"  said  Sir  Thur- 
stan. "If  the  lad's  father,  my  poor  brother 
Richard,   had   lived,   he   would   have  sue- 


14  IN   THE    DAYS    OP    DRAKE. 

ceeded  me  as  lord  of  Beechcot.  Therefore, 
'tis  but  right  that  Dick's  boy  should  step 
into  his  father's  place." 

"To  the  hurt  of  my  poor  Jasper!"  sighed 
Dame  Barbara. 

"Jasper  is  a  Stapleton/'  answered  Sir 
Thurstan.  "However,  sister,  I  will  do 
what  is  right  as  regards  your  lad.  I  will 
charge  myself  with  the  cost  of  his  educa- 
tion and  training,  and  will  give  him  a  start 
in  life,  and  maybe  leave  him  a  goodly  sum 
of  money  when  I  die.  Therefore,  make 
your  mind  easy  on  that  point." 

But  I  knew,  though  I  was  then  but  a 
lad,  that  she  would  never  give  over  fretting 
herself  at  the  thought  that  I  was  to  be  lord 
of  all  the  broad  acres  and  wide  moors  of 
Beechcot,  and  that  Jasper  would  be  but  a 
landless  man.  And  so,  though  she  never 
dare  flout  or  oppress  me  in  any  way,  for 
fear  of  Sir  Thurstan's  displeasure,  she, 
without  being  openly  unfavorable,  wasted 


IN    THE    DAYS   OF    DRAKE.  15 

no  love  on  me,  and  no  doubt  often  wished 
me  out  of  the  way. 

At  that  time  Jasper  and  I  contrived  to 
get  on  very  well  together.  We  were  but 
lads,  and  there  was  no  feeling  of  rivalry 
between  us.  Indeed,  I  do  not  think  there 
would  ever  have  been  rivalry  between  us 
if  that  foolish  woman,  my  Aunt  Barbara, 
had  not  begun  sowing  the  seeds  of  discord 
in  her  son's  mind.  But  as  soon  as  he  was 
old  enough  to  understand  her,  she  began 
talking  to  him  of  Beechcot  and  its  glories, 
pointing  out  to  him  the  wide  park  and 
noble  trees,  the  broad  acres  filled  with 
golden  grain,  and  the  great  moors  that 
stretched  away  for  miles  towards  the  sea; 
and  she  said,  no  doubt,  how  grand  a  thing 
it  would  be  to  be  lord  of  so  excellent  an 
estate,  and  how  a  man  might  enjoy  himself 
in  its  possession.  Then  she  told  him  that 
I  was  to  have  all  these  things  when  Sir 
Thurstan  died,  and  thereafter  my  cousin 
Jasper    hated    me.     But    he    let    his    hate 


16  IN   THE   DAYS   OF   DRAKE. 

smoulder  within  him  a  good  while  before 
he  showed  it  openly.  One  day,  however, 
when  we  were  out  in  the  park  with  our 
bows,  he  began  to  talk  of  the  matter,  and 
after  a  time  we  got  to  high  words. 

"My  mother  tells  me,  Humphrey,"  said 
he,  "that  when  my  uncle  Thurstan  dies  all 
these  fair  lands  will  pass  to  thee.  That  is 
not  right." 

"  'Tis  our  uncle's  land  to  do  with  as  he 
pleases,"  I  answered.  "We  have  naught 
to  do  with  it.  If  he  likes  to  leave  it  to  me, 
what  hast  thou  to  say  in  the  matter?  'Tis 
his  afifair;  not  thine,  Master  Jasper.  Be- 
sides, I  am  a  Salkeld,  and  you  are  not." 

"Is  not  my  mother  a  Salkeld?"  he  asked. 

"It  counts  not  by  the  mother,"  I  an- 
swered. "And,  moreover,  my  father  would 
have  heired  the  estate  had  he  lived.  But 
be  not  down-hearted  about  it,  Jasper,  I  will 
see  that  thou  art  provided  for.  When  I 
am  lord  of  Beechcot  I  will  make  thee  my 
steward." 


IN   THE    DAYS    OP    DRAKE.  17 

Now,  that  vexed  him  sore,  and  he  flew 
into  a  violent  rage,  declaring  that  he  would 
serve  no  man,  and  me  last  of  all;  and  so 
violent  did  he  become  that  he  was  foolish 
to  look  at,  and  thereupon  I  laughed  at  him. 
At  that  his  rage  did  but  increase,  and  he 
presently  fitted  an  arrow  to  his  bow  and 
shot  at  me  meaning,  I  doubt  not,  to  put 
an  end  to  me  forever.  But  by  good  for- 
tune his  aim  mischanced,  and  the  arrow 
did  no  more  than  pin  me  to  the  tree  by 
which  I  stood,  passing  through  my  clothes 
between  the  arm  and  the  body.  And  at 
that  we  were  both  sobered,  and  Jasper 
cooled  his  hot  temper. 

"What  wouldst  thou  have  done  if  the 
arrow  had  passed  through  my  heart,  as  it 
might  easily  have  chanced  to  do?"  I  in- 
quired of  him. 

"I  would  have  gone  home  and  told  them 
that  I  had  killed  thee  by  accident,"  he  an- 
swered   readily     enough.    Thou     wouldst 


18  IN   THE    DAYS    OF   DRAKE. 

have  been  dead,  and  therefore  no  one  could 
have  denied  my  tale." 

I  said  naught  to  that,  but  I  there  and 
then  made  up  my  mind  that  if  ever  I  went 
shooting  with  him  again  I  would  keep  my 
eyes  open.  For  I  now  saw  that  he  was 
not  only  false,  but  also  treacherous.  In- 
deed, I  was  somewhat  minded  to  go  to  my 
uncle  and  tell  him  what  had  taken  place 
between  us,  but  I  remembered  that  the 
good  knight  was  not  fond  of  carried  tales, 
and  therefore  I  refrained. 

After  that  there  was  peace  for  some 
years,  Dame  Barbara  having  evidently 
made  up  her  mind  to  take  things  as  they 
were.  She  was  mortally  afraid  of  offend- 
ing Sir  Thurstan,  for  she  had  no  jointure 
or  portion  of  her  own,  and  was  totally  de- 
pendent upon  his  charity  for  a  sustenance. 
This  made  her  conduct  herself  towards  me 
with  more  consideration  than  I  should 
otherwise  have  received  from  her.  Possi- 
bly she  thought  that  it  might  be  well  to 


IN   THE    DAYS    OF    DRAKE.  19 

keep  in  good  favor  with  me  in  view  of  my 
succeeding  Sir  Thurstan  at  no  distant  pe- 
riod. At  any  rate  I  had  no  more  trouble 
with  Jasper,  and  I  overheard  no  more  un- 
pleasant discussions  between  Dame  Bar- 
bara and  the  knight. 

From  our  tenth  year  upwards  Jasper  and 
myself  daily  attended  the  vicarage,  in  order 
to  be  taught  Greek,  Latin,  and  other  mat- 
ters by  the  Reverend  Mr.  Timotheus 
Herrick,  vicar  of  Beechcot.  He  was  a  tall, 
thin,  spindle-shanked  gentleman,  very  ab- 
sent-minded, but  a  great  scholar.  It  was 
said  of  him,  that  if  he  had  not  married  a 
very  managing  woman  in  the  shape  of  Mis- 
tress Priscilla  Horbury,  he  would  never 
have  got  through  the  world.  He  had  one 
child.  Rose,  of  whom  you  will  hear  some- 
what in  this  history,  and  she  was  three 
years  younger  than  myself.  When  Jasper 
and  I  were  thirteen  and  Rose  ten  years  of 
age,  she  began  to  learn  with  us,  and  pres- 
ently made  such  progress  that  she  caught 


20  IN   THE    DAYS   OF   DRAKE. 

up  to  us,  and  then  passed  us,  and  so  made 
us  ashamed  of  ourselves.  After  that  she 
was  always  in  advance  of  us,  and  we  used 
to  procure  her  help  in  our  lessons;  then 
she  lorded  it  over  us,  as  little  maidens  will 
over  big  lads,  and  we  were  her  humble 
slaves  in  everything. 


IN    THE    DAYS   OF    DRAKE.  21 


CHAPTER  11. 
PHARAOH   NANJULIAN. 

Now  it  chanced  that  one  afternoon  in 
the  June  of  1575  Jasper  and  I  were  on  our 
way  from  the  vicarage  to  the  manor,  our 
lessons  for  that  day  being  over.  We  had 
to  pass  through  the  village  of  Beechcot  on 
our  homeward  journey,  and  it  was  when 
we  were  opposite  the  inn,  then  kept  by 
Geofifrey  Scales,  that  there  occurred  an  in- 
cident which  was  to  have  a  greater  influ- 
ence upon  our  future  lives  than  we  then 
imagined.  In  the  wide  space  by  the  inn, 
formed  by  the  meeting  of  four  roads,  there 
was  gathered  together  a  goodly  company 
of  people,  who  seemed  to  be  talking  as  one 
man,  and  looking  as  with  one  eye  at  some- 
thing in  their  midst. 

"What  have  we  here?"  said  Jasper,  as 
we  paused.  "Is  it  some  bear-ward  with  his 
bear,  or  one  of  those  wandering  Italians 


22  IN    THE    DAYS    OF    DRAKE. 

that  go  about  with  a  guitar  and  a  mon- 
key?" 

"I  hear  no  music,"  said  I.  "It  seems 
to  be  something  of  more  importance  than 
either  bear  or  monkey.  Let  us  see  for 
ourselves." 

So  we  ran  forward  and  joined  the  crowd, 
which  began  presently  to  make  way  for  us. 
Then  we  saw  that  nearly  everybody  in  the 
village,  saving  only  the  men  who  were  at 
work  in  the  fields,  had  run  together  with 
one  accord  in  order  to  stare  and  wonder  at 
a  man,  who  sat  on  the  bench  just  outside 
the  ale-house  door.  It  was  clear  to  me  at 
once  that  he  was  not  a  native  of  those 
parts,  and  might  possibly  be  a  foreigner. 
He  seemed  to  be  of  thirty-five  or  fort}! 
years  of  age,  his  skin  and  hair  were  very 
dark,  and  he  wore  a  great  black  beard, 
which  looked  as  if  it  had  known  neither 
comb  nor  scissors  for  many  a  long  month. 
Also  he  was  of  great  size  and  height,  and 
on  his  brawny  arms,  which  were  bare  from 


IN   THE    DAYS    OF    DRAKE.  23 

the  elbows  downwards,  there  were  figures 
and  patterns  traced  in  blue  and  red,  so  that 
I  at  once  set  him  down  for  a  sailor,  who 
had  seen  much  life  in  strange  countries. 
As  for  his  garments,  they  were  much 
stained  and  worn,  and  his  feet,  which  were 
naked,  were  evidently  callous  and  hard- 
ened enough  to  stand  even  the  roughest 
roads. 

When  we  first  set  eyes  upon  him  the 
man  was  leaning  back  against  the  wall  of 
the  ale-house,  looking  defiantly  at  John 
Broad,  the  constable,  who  stood  by  him, 
and  at  Geofifrey  Scales,  the  landlord,  who 
stood  behind  Broad.  In  the  rear,  holding 
his  chin  with  one  hand,  and  looking  ex- 
ceeding rueful  of  countenance,  stood  Peter 
Pipe,  the  drawer.  All  round  them  hung 
the  crowd  of  men  and  women,  lads  and 
lasses,  staring  open-mouthed  at  the  great 
man  with  the  black  beard. 

"What's  all  this?"  said  I,  as  we  pushed 
our  way  to  the  front. 


24  IN   THE    DAYS    OF   DRAKE. 

The  sailor  jumped  to  his  feet  and  touched 
his  forelock  civilly  enough.  He  looked  at 
John  Broad. 

"Marry,  Master  Humphrey,"  answered 
John  Broad,  "you  see  this  great  fellow 
here,  with  a  beard  so  long  as  the  Turks? 
A'  Cometh  into  our  village  here,  God 
knows  where  from,  and  must  needs  fall  to 
breaking  the  heads  of  peaceable  and  hon- 
est men." 

"  'Tis  a  lie,"  said  the  sailor.  "At  least, 
that  part  of  it  which  refers  to  peaceable  and 
honest  men.  As  to  the  breaking  of  heads, 
I  say  naught." 

"But  whose  head  hath  he  broken?" 
asked  Jasper. 

"Mine,  sir,"  whined  Peter  Pipe.  "God 
ha'  mercy! — it  sings  like  Benjamin  Good's 
bees  when  they  are  hiving." 

"And  why  did  he  break  thy  head?" 

"Let  him  say,"  said  the  sailor.  "Aye, 
let  him  say." 

Peter  Pipe  shufifled  his  feet  and  looked 


IN   THE   DAYS   OF    DRAKE.  25 

out  of  his  eye-corners.  He  was  a  creature 
of  no  spirit,  and  always  in  deadly  fear  of 
something  or  somebody. 

"Maybe  he  will  clout  me  again,"  said 
Peter. 

"Fear  not,"  said  the  sailor.  "I  would  not 
hurt  thee,  thou  two-penny-halfpenny  draw- 
er of  small  beer.    Say  on." 

"This  man,  then,  Master  Humphrey,  a' 
Cometh  into  our  kitchen  and  demands  a 
pot  of  ale.  So  I  fetched  it  to  him  and  he 
paid  me — " 

"Was  his  money  good?" 

"Oh,  aye,  good  money  enough,  I  war- 
rant him,"  said  Geoffrey  Scales. 

"I  said  naught  to  the  contrary,"  con- 
tinued Peter.  "But  no  sooner  had  he 
drunk  than  he  fell  to  cursing  me  for  a 
thief,  and  swore  that  I  had  served  him  with 
small  beer,  and  with  that  he  caught  up  the 
tankard  and  heaved  it  at  me  with  such 
fc  *ce  that  my  jaw  is  well-nigh  broken." 

"And  didst  serve  him  with  small  beer?" 


26  IN   THE    DAYS   OF    DRAKE. 

"I  serve  him  with  small  beer!  Nay, 
Master  Humphrey,  bethink  you.  As  if  I 
did  not  know  the  difference  betwixt  small 
beer  and  good  ale!" 

"That  thou  dost  not,"  said  the  sailor. 
"Young  sir,  listen  to  me.  I  know  thee 
not,  and  I  fear  thee  not,  and  I  know  not 
why  I  should  trouble  to  talk  to  thee.  But 
thou  seemest  to  be  in  authority." 

"  'Tis  Sir  Thurstan's  nephew,"  whispered 
the  constable. 

"What  know  I  of  Sir  Thurstan?  Young 
sir,  I  am  a  man  of  Cornwall,  and  my  name 
it  is  Pharaoh  Nanjulian.  They  know  me 
in  Marazion.  I  have  been  on  a  venture  to 
the  North  Seas — plague  take  it,  there  is 
naught  but  ice  and  snow  there,  with  white 
bears  twenty  feet  long — " 

"List  to  him!''  said  someone  in  the 
crowd. 

"I  will  show  thee  the  white  bear's  trick, 
an'  thou  doubtest  me.  But  to  proceed. 
Young    sir,    we    were    wrecked — sixteen 


IN    THE    DAYS    OF    DRAKE.  27 

good  men  and  true  we  were — off  the  Nor- 
roway  coasts,  which  methinks  are  fash- 
ioned of  iron,  and  we  underwent  trials, 
yea,  and  hunger.  After  a  time  we  came 
to  Drontheim — " 

"Where  is  that?" 

"A  sea-coast  town  of  Norroway,  young 
sir.  And  thence  we  took  ship  to  Scar- 
borough. But  there  was  no  ship  at  Scar- 
borough going  south,  wherefore  I  set  out 
for  mine  own  country  on  foot.  And  to- 
day, which  is  my  first  on  this  journey,  I 
came  to  this  inn  for  a  pint  of  good  ale,  and 
paid  my  money  for  it  too,  whereupon  yon- 
der scurvy  knave  gives  me  small  beer,  thin 
as  water.  And  I,  being  somewhat  hot  and 
choleric  of  temper,  threw  the  measure  at 
him,  and  rewarded  him  for  his  insolence. 
So  now  I  will  go  on  my  way,  for  'tis  a 
brave  step  from  here  to  Marazion,  and  I 
love  not  ye  north-country  folk." 

"Not  so  fast,"  quoth  John  Broad.  "Thou 
must  needs  see  Sir  Thurstan  before  we  let 
thee  go." 


28  IN    THE    DAYS    OF    DRAKE. 

"What  want  I  with  Sir  Thurstan?'' 

"Marry,  naught;  but  he  may  want  some- 
thing with  thee.  Wc  allow  not  that  wan- 
dering rascals  shall  break  the  peace  in  our 
village." 

"If  thou  talkest  to  me  like  that,  Master 
Constable,  I  shall  break  thy  head,  and  in 
such  a  fashion  that  thou  wilt  never  more 
know  what  peace  is.  We  men  of  Devon 
and  Cornwall  allow  no  man  to  lord  it  over 
us." 

"Thou  shalt  to  Sir  Thurstan,  anyhow," 
said  John  Broad.  "We  will  see  what  the 
law  says  to  thee.  I  fear  me  thou  art  a 
man  of  lawless  behavior;  and,  moreover, 
there  are  strange  characters  about  at  this 
moment." 

"Dame  Good  had  two  fowls  stolen  last 
night,"  said  a  voice  in  the  crowd. 

"Yea,  and  there  are  two  fine  linen 
sheets  stolen  from  the  vicarage  hedge," 
piped  another. 

"He  looks  a  strange  mortal,"  said  a 
third. 


IN   THE    DAYS    OF   DRAKE.  29 

"And  wears  gold  rings  in  his  ears," 
cried  a  fourth,  "A'  must  be  a  foreigner, 
and  maybe  a  Papist." 

"Foreigner  or  Papist  I  am  not,  good 
folks,  but  a  true-born  Englishman,  and  a 
good  hater  of  all  Frenchmen  and  Span- 
iards. So  let  me  go  forward  peaceably. 
As  for  the  clout  I  gave  Master  Peter,  here 
is  a  groat  to  mend  it.  I  have  but  a  round 
dozen,  or  I  would  give  him  two." 

With  that  he  would  have  moved  for- 
ward, but  John  Broad  barred  the  way. 

"Not  till  I  have  taken  thee  before  his 
worship,"  said  he.  "What,  am  I  not  con- 
stable of  this  parish,  and  duly  sworn  to  ar- 
rest all  suspicious  persons,  sturdy  beggars, 
and  what  not?" 

The  sailor  paused  and  drew  his  breath, 
and  looked  at  the  constable's  round  figure 
as  if  in  doubt  what  to  do. 

"I  am  loth  to  hurt  thee,"  said  he,  "but 
if  I  hit  thee.  Master  Constable,  thou  wilt 
never    more    drink    ale    nor    smell    beef. 


30  IN   THE    DAYS    OF   DRAKE. 

Know  that  once  in  Palermo  there  came 
upon  me  a  great  brown  bear  that  had  got 
loose  from  his  ward,  and  I  hit  him  fair  and 
square  between  the  eyes,  and  he  fell,  and 
when  they  took  him  up,  his  skull  it  was 
cracked.  Is  thy  skull  harder  than  the 
bear's?" 

At  this  John  Broad  trembled  and  shrank 
away,  but  continued  to  mutter  something 
about  the  law  and  its  majesty. 

"You  had  better  go  with  him  before  my 
uncle,"  said  I.  "He  will  deal  justly  with 
thee.  He  is  hard  upon  no  man,  but  it 
might  fare  ill  with  John  Broad  if  Sir  Thur- 
stan  knew  that  he  had  suffered  you  to  go 
unapprehended." 

"Oh,  if  you  put  it  in  that  way,"  he  an- 
swered, and  turned  again,  "I  will  go  with 
you.  Heaven  send  that  the  good  gentle- 
man do  not  detain  me,  for  I  would  fain 
reach  York  to-night.'' 

So  we  all  moved  off  to  the  manor,  and 
as  many  as  could  find  room  crowded  into 


IN    THE    DAYS    OF    DRAKE.  31 

the  great  hall  where  Sir  Thurstan  sat  to 
deliver  judgment  on  all  naughty  and  evilly- 
disposed  persons.  And  presently  he  came 
and  took  his  seat  in  the  justice-chair  and 
commanded  silence,  and  bade  John  Broad 
state  his  case.  Then  Peter  Pipe  gave  his 
testimony,  and  likewise  Geoffrey  Scales, 
and  then  Sir  Thurstan  called  upon  the 
sailor  to  have  his  say,  for  he  made  a  prac- 
tice of  never  condemning  any  man  un- 
heard. 

After  he  had  heard  them  all,  my  uncle 
considered  matters  for  a  moment  and  then 
delivered  judgment,  during  which  every- 
body preserved  strict  silence. 

"I  find,  first  of  all,"  said  he,  "that  Peter 
Pipe,  the  drawer,  did  serve  this  man  with 
small  beer  instead  of  good  ale.  For  what! 
I  watched  the  man  as  he  told  his  story,  and 
he  did  not  lie." 

"I  thank  your  honor,"  said  the  sailor. 

"Wherefore      I     recommend      Geoflfrey 


32  IN   THE   DAYS   OF   DRAKE. 

Scales  to  admonish  Peter  at  his  conven- 
ience— " 

"Yea,  and  with  a  stick,  your  honor,"  said 
Geoffrey. 

"So  that  he  transgress  not  again.  Never- 
theless, the  sailor  did  wrong  to  maltreat 
Peter.  There  is  law  to  be  had,  and  no  man 
should  administer  his  own  justice.  Where- 
fore I  fine  thee,  sailor,  and  order  thee  to 
pay  ten  groats  to  the  court." 

"As  your  honor  wills,"  said  the  man,  and 
handed  over  the  money.  "I  have  now  one 
left  to  see  me  all  the  way  to  IMarazion. 
But  justice  is  justice." 

"Clear  my  hall,  John  Broad,"  said  my 
uncle.  This  order  the  constable  carried 
out  with  promptitude.  But  when  the 
sailor  would  have  gone,  Sir  Thurstan  bade 
him  stay,  and  presently  he  called  him  to 
his  side  and  held  converse  with  him. 

"Dost  thou  propose  to  walk  to  Mara- 
zion?''  he  asked. 

"With  God's  help,  sir,"  answered  the 
man. 


IN    THE    DAYS   OF    DRAKE.  33 

"Why  not  try  Hull?  Thou  mightest  find 
a  ship  there  for  a  southern  port." 

"I  had  never  thought  of  it,  your  honor. 
How  far  away  may  Hull  be?" 

"Forty  miles.     What  means  hast  thou?" 

"But  one  groat,  sir.  But  then  I  have 
become  used  to  hardships." 

"Try  Hull:  thou  wilt  find  a  ship  there, 
I  doubt  not.  Hold,  here  are  twelve  shil- 
lings for  thee.  Humphrey,  have  him  to 
the  kitchen  and  give  him  a  good  meal  ere 
he  starts." 

"Your  honor,"  said  the  sailor,  "is  a 
father  and  a  brother  to  me.  I  shall  not 
forget." 

"Do  thy  duty,"  said  Sir  Thurstan. 

So  I  took  the  man  to  the  kitchen,  and 
fed  him,  and  soon  he  went  away. 

"Young  master,"  said  he,  "if  I  can  ever 
repay  this  kindness  I  will,  yea,  with  inter- 
est.    Pharaoh  Nanjulian  never  forgets." 

With  that  he  went  away,  and  we  saw 
him  no  more. 

8 


34  IN    THE    DAYS    OF    DRAKE. 


CHAPTER  III. 
ROSE. 

There  being  no  disposition  on  my  part 
to  renew  our  differences,  and  none  on  his 
to  lead  up  to  an  open  rupture,  my  cousin 
Jasper  Stapleton  and  I  got  on  together 
very  well,  until  we  had  reached  the  age  of 
nineteen  years,  when  a  new  and  far  more 
important  matter  of  contention  arose  be- 
tween us. 

Now,  our  first  quarrel  had  arisen  over 
the  ultimate  disposition  of  my  uncle's  es- 
tates; our  second  was  as  to  which  should 
be  lord  over  the  heart  and  hand  of  a  fair 
maiden.  To  both  of  us  the  second  quar- 
rel was  far  more  serious  than  the  first — 
which  is  a  thing  that  will  readily  be  under- 
stood by  all  young  folks.  It  seemed  to 
both  of  us  that  not  all  the  broad  acres  of 
Beechcot,  nay,  of  Yorkshire  itself,  were  to 


IN    THE    DAYS    OP    DRAKE.  35 

be  reckoned  in  comparison  with  the  little 
hand  of  Mistress  Rose  Herrick. 

For  by  that  time  Mistress  Rose  had 
grown  to  be  a  fair  and  gracious  maiden, 
whose  golden  hair,  floating  from  under  her 
dainty  cap,  was  a  dangerous  snare  for  any 
hot-hearted  lad's  thoughts  to  fall  entan- 
gled in.  So  sweet  and  gracious  was  she, 
so  delightful  her  conversation,  so  bewitch- 
ing her  eyes,  that  I  marvel  not  even  at  this 
stretch  of  time  that  I  then  became  her 
captive  and  slave  for  life.  Nor  do  I 
marvel,  either,  that  Jasper  Stapleton  was 
equally  enslaved  by  her  charms.  It  had 
indeed  been  wonderful  if  he  or  I  had  made 
any  resistance  to  them. 

As  to  myself,  the  little  blind  god  pierced 
my  heart  with  his  arrow  at  a  very  early 
stage.  Indeed,  I  do  not  remember  any 
period  of  my  life  when  I  did  not  love  Rose 
Herrick  more  dearly  than  anything  else  in 
God's  fair  world.  To  me  she  was  all  that 
is  sweet  and  desirable,  a  companion  whose 


36  IN   THE    DAYS    OP   DRAKE. 

company  must  needs  make  the  path  of  life 
a  primrose  path;  and,  therefore,  even  when 
I  was  a  lad,  I  looked  forward  to  the  time 
when  I  might  take  her  hand  in  mine,  and 
enter  with  her  upon  the  highway  which  all 
of  us  must  travel. 

However,  when  I  was  come  to  nineteen 
years  of  age,  being  then  a  tall  and  strap- 
ping lad,  and  somewhat  grave  withal,  it 
came  to  my  mind  that  I  should  find  out 
for  myself  what  feelings  Rose  had  with 
regard  to  me,  and  therefore  I  began  to 
seek  her  company,  and  to  engage  her  in 
more  constant  conversation  than  we  had 
hitherto  enjoyed.  And  the  effect  of  this 
was  that  my  love  for  her,  which  had  until 
then  been  of  a  placid  nature,  now  became 
restless  and  unsatisfied,  and  longed  to 
know  whether  it  was  to  be  answered  with 
love  or  finally  dismissed.  . 

Thus  I  became  somewhat  moody  and 
taciturn,  and  took  to  wandering  about  the 
land  by.  myself,  by  day  or  night,  so  that  Sir 


IN    THE    DAYS    OF    DRAKE.  37 

Thurstan  more  than  once  asked  me  if  I 
had  turned  poet  or  fallen  in  love.  Now, 
both  these  things  were  true,  for  because  I 
had  fallen  in  love  I  had  also  turned  poet; 
as,  I  suppose,  every  lover  must.  In  sooth, 
I  had  scribbled  lines  and  couplets,  and 
here  and  there  a  song,  to  my  sweet  mis- 
tress, though  I  had  never  as  yet  mustered 
sufficient  courage  to  show  her  what  I  had 
written.  That,  I  think,  is  the  way  with 
all  lovers  who  make  rhymes.  There  is  a 
satisfaction  to  them  in  the  mere  writing  of 
them;  and  I  doubt  not  that  they  often 
read  over  their  verses,  and  in  the  reading 
find  a  certain  keen  and  peculiar  sort  of 
pleasure  which  is  not  altogether  unmixed 
with  pain. 

Now  it  chanced  that  one  day  in  the 
early  spring  of  1578  I  had  been  wandering 
about  the  park  of  Beechcot,  thinking  of 
my  passion  and  its  object,  and  my  thoughts 
as  usual  had  clothed  themselves  in  verses. 
Wherefore,    when    I    again    reached    the 


38  IN    THE    DAYS   OF    DRAKE. 

house,  I  went  into  the  Hbrary  and  wrote 
down  my  rhymes  on  paper,  in  order  that  I 
might  put  them  away  with  my  other  com- 
positions. I  will  write  them  down  here 
from  the  copy  I  then  made.  It  lies  before 
me  now,  a  yellow,  time-stained  sheet,  and 
somehow  it  brings  back  to  me  the  long- 
dead  days  of  happiness  which  came  before 
my  wonderful  adventure. 

TO  ROSE. 

When  I  first  beheld  thee,  dear, 

Day  across  the  land  was  breaking, 
April  skies  were  fine  and  clear 
And  the  world  to  life  was  waking; 

All  was  fair 

In  earth  and  air: 
Spring  lay  lurking  in  the  sedges: 

Suddenly 

I  looked  on  thee 
And  straight  forgot  the  budding  hedges. 

When  I  first  beheld  thee,  sweet. 

Madcap  Love  came  gayly  flying 
Where  the  woods  and  meadows  meet: 

Then  I  straightway  fell  a-sighing. 


IN    THE    DAYS   OF    DRAKE.  39 

Fair,  I  said, 

Are  hills  and  glade 
And  sweet  the  light  with  which  they're  laden, 

But  ah,  to  me, 

Nor  flower  nor  tree 
Are  half  so  sweet  as  yonder  maiden. 

Thus  when  I  beheld  thee,  love, 

Vanished  quick  my  first  devotion. 
Earth  below  and  heaven  above 
And  the  mystic,  magic  ocean 

Seemed  to  me 

No  more  to  be. 
I  had  eyes  for  naught  but  thee,  dear, 

With  his  dart 

Love  pierced  my  heart 
And  thou  wert  all  in  all  to  me,  dear! 

Now,  as  I  came  to  an  end  of  writing 
these  verses  I  was  suddenly  aware  of  some- 
one standing  at  my  side,  and  when  I 
looked  up,  with  anger  and  resentment  that 
anyone  should  spy  upon  my  actions,  I  saw 
my  cousin  Jasper  at  my  elbow,  staring  at 
the  two  words,  "To  Rose,"  which  headed 


40  IN    THE    DAYS    OF    DRAKE. 

my  composition.  I  sprang  to  my  feet  and 
faced  him. 

"That  is  hke  you,  cousin,"  said  I,  striv- 
ing- to  master  my  anger,  "to  act  the  spy 
upon  a  man." 

"As  you  please,"  he  answered.  "I  care 
what  no  man  thinks  of  my  actions.  But 
there,"  pointing  to  the  paper,  "is  proof  of 
what  I  have  long  suspected.  Humphrey, 
you  are  in  love  with  Mistress  Rose  Her- 
rick!" 

"What  if  I  am?"  said  I. 

"Nothing,  but  that  I  also  am  in  love  with 
her,  and  mean  to  win  her,"  he  replied. 

After  that  there  was  silence. 

"We  cannot  both  have  her,"  said  I  at 
last. 

"True,"  said  he.     "She  shall  be  mine." 

"Not  if  I  can  prevent  it,  cousin.  At 
any  rate  she  has  the  principal  say  in  this 
matter." 

"Thou  hast  not  spoken  to  her,  Hum- 
phrey?" 


IN    THE    DAYS    OF    DRAKE.  41 

"What  is  that  to  thee,  cousin?  But  I 
have  not.'' 

"Humphrey,  thou  wilt  heir  our  uncle's 
lands.  Thou  hast  robbed  me  of  my  share 
in  them.  I  will  not  be  robbed  of  my  love. 
Pish!  do  not  stay  me.  Thou  art  hot- 
tempered  and  boyish,  but  I  am  cold  as  an 
icicle.  It  is  men  like  me  whose  love  is 
deep  and  determined,  and  therefore  I 
swear  thou  shalt  not  come  between  me  and 
Rose  Herrick." 

I  watched  him  closely,  and  saw  that  he 
valued  nothing  of  land  or  money  as  he 
valued  his  passion,  and  that  he  would  stay 
at  nothing  in  order  to  gain  his  own  ends. 
But  I  was  equally  firm. 

"What  do  you  propose,  Jasper?"  I  asked. 
"It  is  for  Mistress  Rose  Herrick  to  decide. 
We  cannot  both  address  her  at  the  same 
time." 

"True,"  he  said;  "true.  I  agree  that 
you  have  the  same  right  to  speak  to  her 
that  I  have.     Let  us  draw  lots.    The  sue- 


42  IN    THE    DAYS    OF    DRAKE. 

cessful  one  shall  have  the  first  chance.  Do 
you  agree?" 

I  agreed  willingly,  because  I  felt  certain 
that  even  if  Jasper  beat  me  he  would  have 
no  chance  with  Rose.  There  was  some- 
thing in  my  heart  that  told  me  she  would 
look  on  me,  and  on  me  only,  with  favor. 

We  went  out  into  the  stackyard,  and 
agreed  that  each  of  us  should  draw  a 
straw  from  a  wheat-stack.  He  that  drew 
the  longest  straw  should  have  the  first 
right  of  speaking.  Then  we  put  our  hands 
to  the  stack  and  drew  our  straws.  I  beat 
him  there — my  straw  was  a  good  foot 
longer  than  his. 

"You  have  beaten  me  again,"  he  said. 
"Is  it  always  to  be  so?  But  I  will  wait, 
cousin  Humphrey." 

And  so  he  turned  away  and  left  me. 

Now,  seeing  how  matters  stood,  it  came 
to  my  mind  that  I  had  best  put  my  fortune 
to  the  test  as  quickly  as  possible,  and  there- 
fore I  made  haste  over  to  the  vicarage  in 


IN   THE    DAYS    OF    DRAKE.  43 

order  to  find  Rose  and  ask  her  to  make  me 
either  happy  or  miserable.  And  as  good 
luck  would  have  it,  I  found  her  alone  in 
the  vicarage  garden,  looking  so  sweet  and 
gracious  that  I  was  suddenly  struck  dumb, 
and  in  my  confusion  could  think  of  naught 
but  that  my  face  was  red,  my  attire  negli- 
gent, and  my  whole  appearance  not  at  all 
like  that  of  a  lover. 

"Humphrey,"  said  Rose,  laughing  at  me, 
*'you  look  as  you  used  to  look  in  the  days 
when  you  came  late  to  your  lessons,  from 
robbing  an  orchard  or  chasing  Farmer 
Good's  cattle,  or  following  the  hounds. 
Are  you  a  boy  again?" 

But  there  she  stopped,  for  I  think  she 
saw  something  in  my  eyes  that  astonished 
her.  And  after  that  I  know  not  what  we 
said  or  did,  save  that  presently  we  under- 
stood one  another,  and  for  the  space  of  an 
hour  entirely  forgot  that  there  were  other 
people  in  the  world,  or,  indeed,  that  there 
was  any  world  at  all. 


44  IN   THE    DAYS   OF    DRAKE. 

So  that  evening  I  went  home  happy. 
And  as  I  marched  up  to  the  manor,  whis- 
tHng  and  singing,  I  met  my  cousin.  He 
looked  at  me  for  a  moment,  and  then 
turned  on  his  heel. 

"I  see  how  it  is,"  he  said.  "You  have 
no  need  to  speak." 

"Congratulate  me,  at  any  rate,  cousin,** 
I  cried. 

"Time  enough  for  that,"  said  he. 

And  from  that  moment  he  hated  me,  and 
waited  his  opportunity  to  do  me  a  mis- 
chief. 


IN    THE    DAYS   OF    DRAKE.  45 

CHAPTER  IV. 

FOUL  PLAY. 

When  a  man  has  conceived  a  deadly 
hatred  of  one  of  his  fellow-men,  and  has 
further  resolved  to  let  slip  no  chance  of  sat- 
isfying it,  his  revenge  becomes  to  him  sim- 
ply a  question  of  time,  for  the  chance  is 
sure  to  come  sooner  or  later. 

It  was  this  conviction,  I  think,  that  kept 
my  cousin  Jasper  Stapleton  quiet  during 
the  next  few  months.  He  knew  that  in  due 
course  his  revenge  would  have  an  oppor- 
tunity of  glutting  itself,  and  for  that  evil 
time  he  was  well  content  to  wait.  You  may 
wonder  that  so  young  a  man  should  have 
possessed  such  cruel  feelings  toward  one 
who  had  never  done  him  any  willful  wrong. 
But  as  events  proved  Jasper  was  of  an  ex- 
ceeding cruel  and   malignant  nature,  and 


46  IN    THE    DAYS    OF    DRAKE. 

his  wickedness  was  all  the  worse  because  it 
was  of  a  cold  and  calculating  sort.  If  a 
man  gave  him  an  honest  straightforward 
blow  or  bufifet,  it  was  not  Jasper's  way  to 
strike  back  there  and  then,  face  to  face,  but 
rather  to  w^ait  until  some  evil  chance  pre- 
sented itself — and  then,  his  adversary's 
back  being  turned,  Jasper  would  plant  a 
dagger  between  his  shoulders.  In  other 
words,  he  bided  his  time,  and  when  he  did 
strike,  struck  at  an  unguarded  place. 

Now  at  that  time  I  had  very  little  idea 
that  Jasper  entertained  such  hard  thoughts 
of  me — my  knowledge  of  his  cruelty  only 
came  by  later  experience.  All  that  spring 
and  summer  of  1578  I  was  living  in  a  very 
paradise,  and  cared  not  for  Jasper  or  Dame 
Barbara  or  anybody  else.  Aly  uncle  had 
sanctioned  the  betrothal  of  Rose  Herrick 
and  myself,  and  the  good  vicar  had  given 
us  his  blessing  in  choice  Latin.  There  had 
been  some  little  scolding  of  us  from  both 
manor-house  and  vicarage,  for  Sir  Thur 


IN    THE    DAYS    OF    DRAKE.  47 

Stan  and  Master  Timothetis  both  thought 
us  too  young  to  talk  of  love  and  marriage; 
but  in  the  end  our  pleadings  prevailed, 
and  it  was  arranged  that  we  were  to  con- 
sider ourselves  plighted  lovers,  and  that  our 
wedding  was  to  take  place  in  two  years. 
This  settled,  there  was  naught  but  happi- 
ness for  me  and  Rose.  I  think  we  spent 
most  of  that  summer  out  of  doors,  wander- 
ing about  the  Chase,  and  talking  as  lovers 
will,  of  all  the  days  to  come.  Never  once 
did  there  come  a  cloud  over  the  fair  heaven 
of  our  hopes,  unless  it  was  once,  when  in  a 
remote  corner  of  the  woods,  we  suddenly 
came  face  to  face  with  Jasper  Stapleton. 
He  had  been  out  with  his  bow,  and  when 
we  met  him  he  was  advancing  along  the 
path,  with  a  young  deer  slung  over  his 
shoulders.  At  the  sound  of  our  footsteps 
on  the  crackling  underwood,  he  stopped, 
looked  up,  and,  recognizing  us,  turned 
hastily  away  and  vanished  in  the  thick 
bushes. 


48  IN   THE    DAYS    OF   DRAKE. 

"Why  did  Jasper  go  away  so  suddenly?'' 
asked  Rose. 

"Because  he  was  not  minded  to  meet 
us,"  said  I. 

"But  why?  And  I  have  not  seen  him 
these  many  weeks — he  seems  to  avoid  me. 
Did  you  mark  his  face,  Humphrey, — how 
white  it  turned  when  he  set  eyes  on  us? 
And  there  was  a  look  on  it  that  fright- 
ened me — a  look  that  seemed  to  promise 
no  love  for  you,  Humphrey,"  she  said. 

"Have  no  fear,  sweetheart,"  I  answered. 
"Jasper  is  a  strange  fellow,  but  he  will  do 
me  no  harm.  He  is  only  disappointed  be- 
cause I  have  won  a  flower  that  he  would 
fain  have  possessed  himself." 

"What  do  you  mean?"  she  asked. 

"I  mean,  sweetheart,  that  Jasper  was 
much  in  love  with  Mistress  Rose  Herrick, 
and  liked  not  that  Humphrey  Salkeld 
should  win  her.  There — perhaps  I  have 
done  wrong  to  tell  thee  this;  but,  indeed,  I 
like  not  mysteries." 


IN   THE    DAYS   OP    DRAKE.  49 

But  so  strange  are  women,  that  Rose 
immediately  fell  to  sighing  and  lamenting 
on  Jasper's  woes.  "It  is  sad,"  she  said, 
"that  any  man  should  sorrow  over  a  maid- 
en's pretty  face,  when  there  are  so  many 
girls  in  the  world.''  This  train  of  thought, 
however,  suddenly  slipped  from  her  when 
she  remembered  Master  Jasper's  ugly 
looks. 

"He  will  do  you  a  mischief,  Humphrey," 
she  said.  "I  saw  it  in  his  eyes.  He  hates 
you.  They  say  that  jealousy  breeds  mur- 
der— oh!  what  if  Jasper  should  try  to  kill 
you?" 

I  laughed  at  the  notion.  I  was  so  cock- 
a-whoop  at  that  time,  so  elated  with  my 
love  and  my  fair  prospects,  that  I  did  not 
believe  anything  could  harm  me,  and  said 
so.  Nevertheless,  I  believe  Rose  was  from 
that  time  much  concerned  as  to  the  rela- 
tions between  me  and  Jasper,  having  some 
woman-born  notion  that  all  might  not  go 
so  well  as  I,  in  my  boyish  confidence,  an- 

4 


50  IN    THE    DAYS    OF    DRAKE. 

ticipated.  But  when  she  set  forth  her  fears 
from  time  to  time,  I  only  laughed  at  her, 
never  thinking  that  my  cousin's  opportun- 
ity was  already  close  at  hand. 

Early  in  the  month  of  October  in  that 
year  Sir  Thurstan  called  Jasper  and  myself 
into  the  library  one  morning,  and  informed 
us  that  he  had  business  for  us  at  the  port  of 
Scarborough.  There  was,  he  said,  a  ship 
coming  over  from  Hamburg,  the  master  of 
which  had  been  entrusted  with  a  certain 
commission  from  him,  and  as  the  vessel 
was  now  due,  he  wished  us  to  go  over  to 
Scarborough  and  complete  the  matter,  by 
receiving  certain  goods  and  paying  the 
master  his  money.  Neither  Jasper  nor  I 
were  displeased  at  the  notion  of  this  trip, 
for  we  were  both  minded  to  see  a  little  of 
the  world.  True,  I  did  not  like  the  idea  of 
being  separated  from  my  sweetheart  for 
several  days;  but  then,  as  she  said,  there 
would  be  the  delight  of  looking  forward  to 
our  meeting  again.     Alas!    neither  of  us 


IN    THE    DAYS   OF   DRAKE.  51 

knew  that  that  meeting  was  not  to   take 
place  for  three  long  and  weary  years. 

We  set  out  from  Beechcot,  Jasper  and  I, 
one  Monday  morning,  having  with  us 
money  wherewith  to  pay  the  charges  of  the 
ship-master.  From  the  manor-house  to 
Scarborough  there  was  a  distance  of  twenty 
odd  miles,  and  therefore  we  rode  our 
horses.  Sir  Thurstan  had  given  us  in- 
structions to  put  up  at  the  Mermaid  Tav- 
ern, near  the  harbor,  and  there  we  accord- 
ingly stabled  our  beasts  and  made  arrange- 
ments for  our  own  accommodation.  The 
ship  which  we  were  expecting  had  not  yet 
arrived,  and  was  not  likely  to  come  in  be- 
fore the  next  day,  so  that  we  had  naught  to 
do  but  look  about  us  and  derive  what 
amusement  we  could  from  the  sights  of  the 
little  fishing  town.  Small  as  the  place 
was,  it  being  then  little  more  than  a  great 
cluster  of  houses  nestling  under  the 
shadow  of  the  high  rock  on  which  stands 
Scarborough  Castle,  it  was  still  a  place  of 


52  IN    THE    DAYS    OF   DRAKE. 

importance  to  us,  who  had  never  for  many 
years  seen  any  town  or  village  bigger  than 
our  own  hamlet  of  Beechcot,  where  there 
were  no  more  than  a  dozen  farmsteads  and 
cottages  all  told.  Also  the  sailors,  who 
hung  about  the  harbor  or  on  the  quay- 
side, or  who  sat  in  their  boats  mending 
their  nets  and  spinning  their  yarns  one  to 
another,  were  sources  of  much  interest,  so 
that  we  felt  two  or  three  days  of  life  in 
their  company  W"Ould  not  be  dull  nor  mis- 
spent. jMoreover,  the  merchant,  whose 
ship  it  was  that  carried  Sir  Thurstan's 
goods,  showed  us  much  attention,  and 
would  have  us  to  his  house  to  talk  with 
him  and  tell  him  of  our  uncle,  whose  ac- 
quaintance he  had  made  many  years  pre- 
viously, but  had  not  been  able  to  cultivate. 
There  is,  near  the  harbor  of  Scarborough, 
lying  half-hid  amongst  the  narrow  streets 
which  run  up  towards  the  Castle  Hill,  a 
quaint  and  curious  inn  known  as  the  Three 
Jolly  Alariners.     At  its  door  stands  a  fig- 


IN    THE    DAYS    OF    DRAKE.  53 

ure  carved  in  wood,  which  at  some  time, 
no  doubt,  acted  as  figurehead  to  a  ship, 
but  whether  it  represents  Venus  or  Diana, 
Hebe  or  Minerva,  I  do  not  know.  Inside, 
the  house  more  resembles  the  cabin  of  a 
vessel  than  the  parlor  of  a  tavern.  On  the 
walls  are  many  curious  things  brought  by 
mariners  from  foreign  parts,  together  with 
relics  of  ships  that  had  made  many  voy- 
ages from  the  harbor  outside,  and  had 
finally  c©me  home  to  be  broken  up.  In 
this  place,  half-parlor,  half-cabin,  there  as- 
sembled men  of  seafaring  life:  salts,  young 
and  old,  Eaglish,  Scotch,  Norwegians,  and 
Danes,  with  now  and  then  a  Frenchman 
or  Spaniard,  so  that  there  is  never  any  lack 
of  interesting  and  ofttimes  marvelous  dis- 
course. 

Our  ship  not  having  come  in  on  the 
Tuesday  night,  Jasper  and  I,  in  company 
with  the  merchant  aforesaid,  entered  the 
Three  Jolly  Mariners,  and  having  saluted 
the  assembled  company,  sat  down  to  wait 


54  IN   THE    DAYS    OF   DRAKE. 

awhile,  the  harbor-master  thinking  it  Hkely 
that  our  vessel  would  shortly  be  signaled. 
There  were  several  men  in  the  inn,  drinking 
and  talking,  and  all  were  of  interest  in  my 
eyes,  but  one  of  them  much  more  so  than 
the  others.  He  was  a  stoutly-built,  tall 
man  of  middle  age,  dressed  in  what  seemed 
to  my  eyes  a  very  fantastic  style,  there  be- 
ing more  color  in  his  dress  than  was  then 
usual.  He  had  a  high,  white  forehead, 
over  which  his  jet-black  hair  was  closely 
cropped,  his  eyes  were  set  rather  too  near 
together  to  be  pleasant,  his  nose  was  long, 
his  teeth  very  white  and  large,  and  his 
beard,  almost  as  black  as  his  hair,  was 
trimmed  to  a  point.  As  he  sat  and  listened 
to  the  conversation  around  him  he  never 
laughed,  but  occasionally  he  smiled,  expos- 
ing his  cruel  teeth,  and  reminding  me  of  a 
dog  that  shows  its  fangs  threateningly. 

Our  friend  the  merchant  whispered  to  us 
that  this  gentleman  was  a  certain  Captain 
Manuel  Nunez,  who  came  trading  to  Scar- 


IN   THE   DAYS    OF    DRAKE.  55 

borough  from  Seville.  He  further  in- 
formed us  that  his  ship  now  lay  outside  in 
the  harbor,  and  was  a  fine  vessel,  of  very 
graceful  proportions,  and  much  more  beau- 
tiful to  look  at  than  our  English  ships, 
which  are  somewhat  squat  and  ugly, 
though  not  difficult  to  handle. 

"And  although  he  is  a  Spaniard,"  con- 
tinued our  friend,  "this  Senor  Nunez  is  well 
hked  here,  for  he  makes  himself  courtly 
and  agreeable  to  those  who  have  to  do  with 
him,  so  that  our  recent  relations  with  his 
country  have  not  prevented  him  from  com- 
ing amongst  us." 

However,  there  was  something  about  the 
man  which  almost  made  me  afraid.  He 
reminded  me  of  a  viper  which  I  once  killed 
in  Beechcot  Woods.  And  though  we  en- 
tered into  conversation  with  him  that  night, 
and  found  him  a  mightily  agreeable  com- 
panion, I  still  preserved  the  notion  that  he 
was  a  man  not  to  be  trusted,  and  like  to 
prove  cruel  and  treacherous. 


56  IN   THE    DAYS   OF    DRAKE. 

The  following  day,  going  down  to  the 
harbor-wall  to  see  if  there  were  any  signs 
of  our  ship,  I  saw  my  cousin  engaged  in 
close  conversation  with  Senor  Nunez.  I 
did  not  intrude  myself  upon  them,  but  pres- 
ently the  Spaniard,  catching  sight  of  me, 
came  to  my  side,  and  with  a  courteous  salu- 
tation addressed  me. 

"I  have  been  inviting  your  good  cousin. 
Master  Stapleton,  to  go  aboard  my  vessel 
yonder,"  said  he,  "and  I  would  tender  the 
same  courtesy  to  yourself.  Master  Salkeld. 
It  is  not  often  that  an  English  country 
gentleman  has  a  chance  of  seeing  a  Span- 
ish ship  in  these  sad  days,  unless,  alack!  it 
be  in  this  deplorable  warfare;  and,  there- 
fore, I  thought  3^ou  might  both  be  glad  of 
this  opportunity." 

"What  do  you  say,  Humphrey?"  asked 
Jasper,  who  had  now  approached  us.  "I 
would  like  to  see  the  inside  of  a  Spanish 
ship.  If  'tis  aught  like  the  outside  it  should 
be  well  worth  an  examination." 


IN    THE    DAYS   OF    DRAKE.  57 

"A  look  at  the  Santa  Luisa  will  repay 
your  trouble,  gentlemen,"  said  the  Spaniard 
with  a  proud  smile.  "There  is  no  faster 
ship  for  her  size  on  the  high  seas." 

"I  am  agreeable,"  said  I.  "Our  own  ship 
is  not  yet  come,  and  time  begins  to  hang 
heavy." 

"Then  you  shall  come  on  board  to- 
night," said  Captain  Nunez.  "Until  six  of 
the  clock  I  am  engaged  on  shore,  but  at 
that  hour  I  will  have  a  boat  awaiting  us 
at  the  harbor  stairs,  and  you  shall  go 
aboard  with  me,  gentlemen." 

So  we  agreed  and  parted  with  him,  Jas- 
per full  of  the  matter,  and  exclaiming  that 
we  should  have  much  to  tell  the  folks  at 
home.  I,  however,  was  beginning  to  get 
somewhat  impatient  with  respect  to  our 
own  ship,  which  its  owner  now  believed  to 
have  been  unexpectedly  detained,  and  I 
only  regarded  the  visit  to  the  Santa  Luisa 
as  a  diversion. 

At  six  o'clock  that  night,  Jasper  and  I 


58  IN    THE    DAYS    OF    DRAKE. 

met  the  Spaniard  at  the  harbor  stairs  and 
went  on  board  his  vessel.  We  found  the 
Santa  Luisa  to  be  a  very  fine  ship,  and  of 
much  more  pretentious  appearance  as  re- 
garded her  fittings  than  our  own  EngHsh 
trading  vessels.  We  passed  an  hour  or  so 
in  examining  her,  and  were  then  pressed 
by  Senor  Nunez  to  enter  his  cabin  and  en- 
joy his  hospitality. 

I  have  no  very  clear  recollection  of  what 
followed.  I  remember  that  we  ate  and 
drank,  that  the  Spaniard  was  vastly  amus- 
ing in  his  discourse,  and  that  I  began  to 
feel  mighty  sleepy.  After  that  I  must  have 
gone  to  sleep. 

When  I  came  to  my  full  senses  again  I 
was  lying  in  a  hammock,  and  I  could  tell 
from  the  motion  of  the  ship  that  we  were 
at  sea  in  a  good,  fresh  wind.  The  Spaniard 
stood  by  me,  regarding  me  attentively.  I 
started  up  and  addressed  him. 

"Senor  Nunez!  I  have  been  asleep. 
Where  am  I?  The  ship  seems  to  be  mov- 
ing!" 


IN    THE    DAYS    OF    DRAKE.  59 

"The  ship  is  moving,  Master  Salkeld,"  he 
answered,  in  his  smooth,  rich  voice.  "At 
this  moment  she  is  off  the  Lincolnshire 
coast.    You  have  slept  for  twelve  hours." 


60  IN   THE   DAYS    OF   DRAKE. 


CHAPTER  V. 

PHARAOH  NANJULIAN  AGAIN. 

I  do  not  know  to  this  day  how  I  got  out 
of  the  hammock,  but  no  sooner  did  I  hear 
the  Spanish  captain  utter  these  words  than 
I  made  haste  to  go  on  deck  and  examine 
the  truth  of  his  statement  for  myself.  But 
before  I  could  reach  the  companion  I 
reeled  and  staggered,  and  should  have  fal- 
len, if  Nunez  had  not  seized  my  arm  and 
supported  me.  He  helped  me  to  a  seat, 
and  handed  me  a  glass  containing  a  re- 
storative. 

"You  are  not  well,"  he  said.  "But  you 
will  come  round  presently." 

"Senor!"  I  cried,  "what  is  the  meaning  of 
this?  Why  am  I  on  this  ship,  and  why  are 
we  at  sea?  How  is  it  that  I  am  not  at  Scar- 
borough? There  has  been  some  treachery 
— some  foul  play!" 


IN    THE    DAYS    OF    DRAKE.  61 

"Nay,"  said  he,  "be  moderate,  I  entreat 
you,  Senor.  Do  not  let  there  be  any  talk 
of  treachery.  Am  I  not  serving  you  as  a 
friend?" 

"I  do  not  comprehend  anything  of  what 
you  say,"  I  answered.  "There  is  some 
mystery  here.  Again  I  ask  you — why  am 
I  on  board  your  ship  and  at  sea?" 

"And  I  ask  you,  Senor,  where  else  did 
you  expect  to  be  but  on  board  my  ship  and 
at  sea?" 

I  stared  at  the  man  in  amaze  and  won- 
der. He  returned  my  gaze  unflinchingly, 
but  I  felt  certain  that  in  his  eyes  there  was 
a  cruel  mockery  of  me,  and  my  blood 
seemed  to  turn  cold  within  me  as  I  re- 
cognized that  I  was  in  the  Spaniard's 
power.  But,  being  now  in  a  desperate 
mood,  I  strove  to  be  cool  and  to  keep  my 
wits  about  me. 

"I  expected  to  be  at  Scarborough, 
Senor,"  I  said.  "Where  else?  I  remem- 
ber coming  aboard  your  vessel  and  eating 


62  IN    THE    DAYS    OV    DRAKE. 

and  drinking  with  you,  but  after  that  I 
must  have  fallen  asleep.  I  wake  and  find 
myself  at  sea." 

"Naturally  you  do,"  said  he  with  a  smile. 
"Allow  me,  ^Master  Salkeld,  to  recall  to  you 
certain  incidents  which  took  place  last 
night.  You  came  on  board  my  ship  with 
your  cousin.  Master  Stapleton,  and  I  of- 
fered you  my  poor  hospitality.  Was  that 
all  that  took  place?" 

"It  was,"  said  I,  confidently  enough. 

"That  is  strange,"  said  he,  giving  me  an- 
other of  his  queer  looks.  "I  fear  you  have 
undergone  some  strange  mental  change  in 
your  long  sleep.  But  as  I  perceive  that 
you  do  not  understand  me,  I  will  explain 
matters  to  you.  Last  night,  Master  Sal- 
keld, as  you  and  your  cousin  sat  at  meat 
with  me,  you  explained  to  me  that  you  had 
committed  some  great  crime  against  the 
laws  of  your  country,  and  that  it  was  neces- 
sary, if  you  would  save  your  head,  to  leave 
England  at  once.     I  remarked  that  I  was 


IN    THE    DAYS    OF    DRAKE.  63 

about  to  set  sail  for  the  West  Indies,  and 
should  be  pleased  to  take  you  as  my  pas- 
senger, whereupon  you  and  your  cousin 
having  consulted  together,  you  paid  me  the 
passage-money — and  here  we  are." 

The  man  told  me  all  this  with  the  utmost 
assurance,  his  face  utterly  unmoved  and 
his  strange  eyes  inscrutable.  It  was  a  lie 
-from  beginning  to  end,  and  I  knew  it  to  be 
a  lie.  Nevertheless,  I  knew  also  that  I  was 
powerless,  and  I  made  up  my  mind  to  act 
prudently. 

"Senor,"  I  replied,  "as  between  you  and 
me,  I  may  as  well  tell  you  that  I  do  not 
believe  a  single  word  of  what  you  have 
said.  There  has  been  treachery — and  it  lies 
with  you  and  my  rascal  cousin,  Jasper  Sta- 
pleton.  I  have  committed  no  crime  against 
the  laws,  and  I  wish  to  be  put  ashore  at 
your  earliest  opportunity." 

"You  shall  be  obeyed,  Master  Salkeld," 
he  replied,  bowing  low,  but  with  a  mock- 
ing smile  about  his  lips. 


64  IN    THE    DAYS    OF   DRAKE. 

"Where  do  you  first  touch  land?"  I  in- 
quired. 

"I  have  already  told  you,  Master  Sal- 
keld.     Somewhere  in  the  West  Indies." 

"But  you  do  not  mean  to  carry  me  to  the 
West  Indies?"  I  cried.  "Why,  'tis  a  jour- 
ney of  many  thousands  of  miles!'' 

"Precisely.  Nevertheless,  you  must  un- 
dertake it.  We  touch  no  land  until  we 
make  Barbadoes  or  Martinique." 

I  said  no  more;  it  was  useless.  I  was  in 
the  man's  power.  Nothing  that  I  could 
say  or  do  would  alter  his  purpose.  There 
had  been  villainy  and  treachery — and  my 
cousin,  Jasper  Stapleton,  had  worked  it. 
I  comprehended  everything  at  that  mo- 
ment. I  had  been  lured  on  board  the 
Spanish  vessel  and  subsequently  drugged, 
in  order  that  Jasper  might  rid  himself  of 
my  presence.  That  was  plainly  to  be  seen. 
But  what  of  the  future?  The  West  Indies, 
I  knew,  were  thousands  of  miles  away. 
They  were  in  the  hands  of  our  hereditary 


IN   THE    DAYS   OP   DRAKE.  65 

enemies,  the  Spaniards.  From  them  I 
should  receive  scant  mercy  or  considera- 
tion. I  was  penniless — for  my  money  had 
disappeared — and  even  if  I  had  possessed 
money,  what  would  it  have  benefited  me 
in  a  savage  land  like  that  to  which  I  was 
being  carried?  I  might  wait  there  many  a 
long  year  without  meeting  with  an  English 
ship.     I  turned  to  the  Spaniard. 

"So  I  am  a  prisoner,  Senor, — your 
prisoner?" 

"My  ship  and  my  goods  are  at  your  dis- 
posal, Senor,"  he  replied. 

"So  long  as  I  do  not  make  any  demands 
upon  them,  eh?" 

"Say  unreasonable  demands.  Master  Sal- 
keld.  As  a  matter  of  fact  you  are  free  to 
walk  or  stand,  sit  or  lie,  wake  or  sleep  as 
you  please.  I  entertain  you  as  I  best  can 
until  we  touch  land — and  then  you  go  your 
own  way.  You  have  made  'a  contract  with 
me,  you  have  paid  your  money,  and  now  I 

5 


66  IN    THE    DAYS    OF    DRAKE. 

have  nothing  to  do  but  carry  ovit  my  share 
of  the  bargani." 

"And  that  is ?" 

"To  take  you  to  the  West  Indies." 

"Very  good,  Senor.  Now  we  under- 
stand each  other.  You  will  perhaps  not 
object  to  my  telling  you,  that  when  I  next 
meet  my  cousin.  Master  Jasper  Stapleton, 
I  will  break  his  head  for  his  share  in  this 
foul  conspiracy." 

"I  do  not  object  in  the  least.  Master  Sal- 
keld.  But  you  do  well  to  say,  when  you 
next  meet  him.'' 

"Why  so,  Senor?" 

"Because  it  is  so  highly  improbable.  In- 
deed, you  will  never  be  so  near  England 
again  as  you  are  at  this  moment." 

I  looked  through  the  port,  and  saw  the 
long,  flat  Lincolnshire  coast.  The  day  was 
dull  and  heavy,  and  the  land  was  little  more 
than  a  gray  bank,  but  it  meant  much  to  me. 
I  was  being  carried  away  from  all  that  I 
loved,  from  my  sweetheart,  my  uncle,  my 


IN    THE    DAYS    OF    DRAKE.  67 

friends,  from  everything-  that  had  grown  a 
part  of  my  daily  life.  And  I  was  going — 
where?  That  I  knew  not.  Not  to  the 
West  Indies — no,  I  was  sure  of  that.  Cap- 
tain Manuel  Nunez  was  an  accomplished 
liar  in  everything,  and  I  felt  sure  that  he 
had  another  lie  in  reserve  yet.  At  the 
thought  of  him  and  of  Jasper's  villainy  the 
blood  boiled  in  my  veins,  and  tears  of  rage 
and  despair  gathered  in  my  eyes.  But  what 
was  the  use  of  anger  or  sorrow?  I  was 
powerless. 

I  now  made  up  my  mind  to  show  a  good 
face  to  all  these  troubles  and  difficulties, 
and,  therefore,  I  strove  to  be  as  much  at 
my  ease  as  was  possible  under  the  circum- 
stances. I  walked  the  decks,  talked  with 
such  of  the  men  as  knew  a  word  or  two  of 
English,  and  cultivated  as  much  of  the  cap- 
tain's acquaintance  as  my  aversion  to  his 
wickedness  would  permit.  I  learnt  the 
names  of  masts,  siheets,  stays,  and  sprits, 
and  picked  up  other  information  of  seafar- 


68  IN    THE    DAYS    OF    DRAKE. 

ing  matters,  thinking  that  it  might  some 
day  be  useful  to  me.  I  am  bound  to  say 
that  Senor  Manuel  Nunez  was  very  courte- 
ous towards  me.  But  what  avails  courtesy, 
when  the  courteous  man  is  only  waiting  his 
time  to  injure  you? 

We  had  been  at  sea  something  like  three 
weeks,  and  had  passed  Ushant  four  days 
previously,  when,  sailing  south-by-west,  we 
were  overtaken  by  a  gale  and  had  to  run 
before  it  with  bare  poles.  Upon  the  sec- 
ond morning,  our  lookout,  gazing  across 
a  stormy  sea,  cried  that  he  saw  a  man  cling- 
ing to  a  piece  of  wreckage  on  the  lee  bow, 
and  presently  all  those  on  deck  were  con- 
scious of  the  same  sight.  The  man  was 
drifting  and  tossing  half  a  mile  away,  and 
had  seen  us,  for  he  was  making  frantic  ef- 
forts to  attract  our  notice.  I  was  some- 
what surprised  when  Captain  Nunez  took 
steps  to  rescue  him,  for  it  w^ould  have  fitted 
in  with  my  notion  of  his  character  if  he  had 
suffered    the    wretch    to    remain    unaided, 


IN    THE    DAYS    OF    DRAKE.  69 

However,  he  sent  off  a  boat,  which  event- 
ually brought  away  the  man  from  his  piece 
of  wreckage,  and  had  hard  work  to  make 
the  ship  again,  for  the  sea  was  running 
hard  and  high.  The  rescued  man  crouched 
in  the  stern,  hiding  his  head  in  his  hands, 
so  that  I  did  not  see  his  face  until  he  came 
aboard.  Then  it  seemed  familiar,  but  I 
could  not  bethink  me  where  I  had  seen  it 
before. 

"And  who  art  thou,  friend?"  asked 
Nunez. 

"A  mariner  of  Plymouth,  good  sir,"  an- 
swered the  man,  "and  sole  survivor  of  the 
ship  Hawthorn.  Lost  she  is,  and  all  hands, 
save  only  me." 

Then  I  suddenly  recognized  him.  It  was 
the  Cornish  sailor,  Pharaoh  Nanjulian.  So 
the  sea  had  given  me  a  friend  in  need. 


70  IN    THE    DAYS    OF    DRAKE. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

SCHEMES  AND  STRATAGEMS. 

I  was  not  minded  to  let  Captain  Nunez 
and  the  crew — every  man  of  which  was 
either  Spaniard  or  Portugee — see  that  I 
had  any  knowledge  of  the  man  whom  they 
had  rescued,  and  therefore  I  presently  went 
below  and  kept  out  of  the  w-ay  for  a  w^hile. 
Somehow  I  felt  a  considerable  sense  of 
gratification  at  the  thought  of  the  Cornish- 
man's  presence  on  board.  He  seemed  to 
me  a  man  of  resource  and  of  courage,  and 
I  no  sooner  set  eyes  on  him  in  this  remark- 
able fashion,  than  I  began  to  think  how  he 
might  aid  me  in  making  my  escape  from 
my  present  position. 

After  a  time  Nunez  came  down  into  the 
cabin  where  I  sat.  and  began  to  talk  with 
me. 

"We  have  fallen  in  with  a  countryman 


IN    THE    DAYS    OF    DRAKE.  71 

of  yours,  Master  Salkeld,"  said  he,  regard- 
ing me  closely,  as  if  he  wished  to  see  how 
I  took  the  news. 

"Indeed!"  said  I.  "The  man  just  come 
aboard?" 

"The  same.  A  native  of  Cornwall,  with 
an  outlandish  name,  and  an  appetite  as 
large  as  his  body,  judging  by  the  way  he 
eats." 

"He  is  no  doubt  hungry,  Senor,"  I  said. 
"Perhaps  he  has  been  tossing  about  for  a 
while." 

"A  day  and  a  night.  One  additional 
mouth.  Master  Salkeld,  is  what  I  did  not 
bargain  for." 

"But  you  would  not  have  allowed  the 
man  to  drift  away  to  starvation  and  death?" 
I  said. 

"His  life  was  no  concern  of  mine,  Master 
Salkeld.  But  I  can  make  him  useful; 
therefore  ihe  was  worth  saving.  I  shall  en- 
roll him  as  one  of  my  crew,  and  carry  him 
to  the  Indies." 


72  IN   THE    DAYS    OF   DRAKE. 

"And  then?" 

"Then  he  will  go  ashore  with  you,  unless 
he  prefers  to  go  back  with  me  to  Cadiz — 
which  he  probably  will  not  do." 

He  left  me  then,  and  I  sat  wondering 
what  he  meant  by  saying  that  the  English 
sailor  would  probably  not  care  to  go  back 
to  Spain  with  him.  There  seemed  some- 
thing sinister  in  his  meaning.  But  I  gave 
over  thinking  about  it,  for  I  was  by  that 
time  firmly  convinced  that  Captain  Manuel 
Nunez  was  a  thorough-paced  scoundrel, 
and  well  fitted  to  undertake  all  manner  of 
villainy,  despite  his  polished  manners  and 
fine  words.  Also,  I  was  certain  that  there 
was  in  store  for  me  some  unpleasant  and 
possibly  terrible  fate,  v/hich  I  was  power- 
less to  avoid  and  which  was  certain  to 
come.  Therefore  I  had  resigned  myself  to 
my  conditions,  and  only  hoped  to  show 
myself  a  true  Englishman  when  my  time 
of  trouble  came. 

Nevertheless,  many  a  sad  hour  and  day 


IN    THE    DAYS    OF    DRAKE.  73 

did  I  spend,  looking  across  the  great  wild 
waste  of  gray  water  and  wondering  what 
they  were  doing  at  Beechcot  In  my  sad 
thoughts  and  in  my  dreams  I  could  see  the 
little  hamlet  nestling  against  the  purple 
Wold;  the  brown  leaves  piled  high  about 
the  shivering  hedgerows;  the  autumn  sun- 
light shining  over  the  close-cropped 
fields;  and  in  the  manor-house  the  good 
knight,  my  uncle,  seated  by  his  wood-fire, 
wondering  what  had  become  of  me.  Also 
I  could  see  the  old  vicarage  and  the  vicar, 
good  Master  Timotheus,  thumbing  his 
well-loved  folios,  and  occasionally  pushing 
his  spectacles  from  his  nose  to  look  round 
and  inquire  whether  there  was  yet  news  of 
the  boy  Humphrey.  But  more  than  these, 
I  saw  my  sweetheart's  face,  sad  and  weary 
with  fear,  and  her  eyes  seemed  as  if  they 
looked  for  something  and  were  unsatisfied. 
And  then  would  come  worse  thoughts — 
thoughts  of  Jasper  and  his  villainy,  and  of 
what  it  might  have  prompted  him  to  in  the 


74  IN    THE    DAYS    OF    DRAKE. 

way  of  lies.  He  would  carry  home  a  straig'ht 
and  an  ingenious  tale — I  was  very  sure  of 
that.  He  would  tell  them  I  was  drowned 
or  kidnaped,  and  nobody  would  doubt  his 
story.  That  was  the  worst  thought  of  all 
— that  my  dear  ones  should  be  thinking  of 
me  as  one  dead  while  I  was  simply  a  pris- 
oner, being  carried  I  knew  not  where,  nor 
to  what  fate. 

On  the  evening  of  the  second  day  after 
the  Cornish  sailor  came  aboard,  the 
weather  having  moderated  and  the  ship 
making  good  progress,  I  was  leaning  over 
the  port  bulwarks  moodily  gazing  at  the 
sea,  when  I  felt  a  touch  on  my  hand. 
Looking  round,  I  saw  the  Englishman  en- 
gaged in  coiling  a  rope  close  to  me.  He 
continued  his  task  and  spoke  in  a  low 
voice. 

"I  recognized  you,  master,"  said  he.  "1 
looked  through  the  skylight  last  night  as 
you  talked  with  the  captain,  and  I  knew 
you  again.     I   know  not  how  you   came 


IN    THE    DAYS   OF    DRAKE.  75 

here,  nor  why,  but  it  is  strange  company 
for  a  young  EngHsh   gentleman." 

"I  was  trapped  on  board,"  I  said. 

"I  thought  so,"  he  responded.  "But 
speak  low,  master,  and  take  no  heed  of  me. 
We  can  converse  while  I  work,  but  it  will 
not  do  for  us  to  be  seen  talking  too  much. 
The  less  we  are  noticed  together  the  better 
for  our  necks.  How  came  you  here,  mas- 
ter? I  had  no  thought  of  seeing  you  in 
such  company."' 

I  told  him  as  briefly  as  possible  while  he 
continued  to  coil  the  rope. 

"Aye,"  said  he,  when  I  had  finished  my 
story,  "I  expected  something  of  that  sort. 
Well,  I  am  glad  that  the  old  Hawthorn  left 
me  swimming,  though  sorry  enough  that 
all  her  merry  men  are  gone  down  below. 
But  what!  death  must  come.  Now,  young 
master,  what  can  we  do?  I  swore  a  sol- 
emn oath  when  your  good  uncle  befriended 
me  that  I  would  serve  you.  This  is  the 
time.     What  can  I  do?" 


76  IN    THE    DAYS    OF   DRAKE. 

"Alas,"  said  I,  "I  know  not." 

"Do  you  know  whither  we  are  bound?" 
he  asked. 

"The  Captain  says  to  the  West  Indies. 
But  I  do  not  know  if  that  be  true  or  false." 

"More  likely  to  be  false  than  true,  mas- 
ter. Now,  then,  hearken  to  me,  young  sir. 
I  have  seen  a  deal  of  life,  and  have  been  a 
mariner  this  thirty  year  or  more.  We  must 
use  our  wits.  Can  you,  do  you  think,  find 
out  what  our  destination  really  is?" 

"I  am  afraid  not,"  I  replied.  "Nunez  will 
not  tell  me  more  than  he  has  already  told 
me." 

'True,"  said  he;  "true — you  will  get 
naught  out  of  him.  But  I  have  a  better 
chance.  I  can  talk  to  the  men — well  it  is 
that  I  know  their  lingo  sufificiently  for  that. 
But  nay,  I  will  not  talk  to  them,  I  will  lis- 
ten instead.  They  do  not  know  that  I  un- 
derstand Spanish.  There  are  three  of  them 
speak  broken  English — they  shall  do  the 
talking.     I  will  keep  my  ears  open  for  their 


IN   THE    DAYS    OF   DRAKE,  77 

Spanish — peradventure  I  shall  hear  some- 
thing worth  my  trouble.  You  see,  master, 
if  we  only  know  where  we  are  going,  and 
what  we  have  to  expect  when  we  get  there, 
we  shall  be  in  a  much  better  position  than 
we  are  now.  For  now  we  are  as  men  that 
walk  in  a  fog,  not  knowing  where  the  next 
step  will  take  them." 

"I  will  do  whatever  you  wish,"  said  I.  ' 
"Then  be  careful  not  to  have  over-much 
converse  with  me,  master.  Yon  Nunez  has 
the  eye  of  a  hawk  and  the  stealth  of  a  viper, 
and  if  he  does  but  suspect  that  you  and  I 
are  in  treaty  together,  he  will  throw  me 
overboard  with  a  dagger  wound  under  my 
shoulder-blade." 
"How  shall  we  hold  converse,  then?" 
"As  we  are  now  doing.  If  I  have  aught 
to  tell  you  I  will  give  you  a  sign  when  you 
are  near  me.  A  wink,  or  a  nod,  or  a  cough 
— either  will  do.  And  what  I  have  to  say 
I  will  say  quickly,  so  that  whoever  watches 
us  will  think  we  do  no  more  than  pass  the 
time  of  day," 


78  IN   THE    DAYS    OF   DRAKE. 

So  for  that  time  we  parted,  and  during 
the  next  few  days  I  watched  for  Pharaoh 
Nanjuhan's  sign  eagerly,  and  was  sadly 
disappointed  when  I  received  it  not.  In- 
deed, for  nearly  a  week  he  took  no  notice 
of  me  whatever,  giving  me  not  even  a  sign 
of  recognition  as  I  passed  him  on  the  deck, 
so  that  Nunez  was  minded  to  remark  upon 
his  indifiference. 

"Your  countryman  seems  but  a  surly 
dog,''  said  he.  "I  should  have  thought  he 
would  have  sought  your  company,  Master 
Salkeld,  but  he  seems  to  care  no  more  for 
it  than  for  that  of  the  ship's  dog." 

"He  is  a  Cornishman  and  a  sailor,  and  I 
am  a  Yorkshireman  and  a  gentleman,"  said 
I.  "In  England  we  should  not  associate 
one  with  the  other,  so  wherefore  should  we 
here?" 

"Nay,  true,  unless  that  you  are  com- 
panions in  adversity,  and  that  makes 
strange  bedfellows,"  said  he.  "But  you 
English  are  not  given  to  talking." 


IN   THE    DAYS   OP    DRAKE.  79 

I  hoped  that  he  really  thought  so,  and 
that  he  had  no  idea  of  the  thoughts  within 
me.  I  was  ready  enough  to  talk  when 
Pharaoh  NanjuHan  gave  the  signal. 

It  came  at  last  as  he  stood  at  the  wheel 
one  night,  and  I  stood  near,  apparently 
idling  away  my  time. 

"Now,  master,"  said  he,  "continue  look- 
ing over  the  side  and  I  will  talk.  I  have 
found  out  where  we  are  going." 

"Well?''  I  said,  eager  enough  for  his 
news. 

"We  are  bound  for  Vera  Cruz,  master." 

"Where  is  that?     In  the  West  Indies?" 

"It  is  a  port  of  Mexico,  master,  and  in  the 

possession  of  the  Spaniards,  who  are  devils 

in  human  shape." 

"And  what  will  they  do  with  us  there?" 
"That  I  have  also  found  out.  It  seems 
that  your  good  cousin.  Master  Stapleton, 
did  make  a  bargain  with  this  noble  Spanish 
gentleman,  Captain  Nunez,  for  getting  you 
out  of  the  way.    The   bo's'n,  Pedro,  says 


80  IN   THE    DAYS   OF    DRAKE. 

that  your  cousin  suggested  that  Nunez 
should  sail  you  out  to  sea,  and  then  knock 
you  on  the  head  and  heave  you  overboard. 
But  Nunez  would  have  none  of  that,  and 
decided  that  he  would  carry  you  with  him 
to  Vera  Cruz." 

"And  what  will  befall  me  at  Vera  Cruz?" 

"He,  being  a  pious  man,  will  hand  you 
over  to  the  Holy  Office." 

"To  the  Holy  Office!  You  mean  the 
Inquisitors?     And  they " 

"They  will  burn  you  for  a  Lutheran  dog, 
master." 

We  were  both  silent  for  awhile.  I  was 
thinking  of  naught  but  the  fiendish  cruelty 
which  existed  in  such  a  man  as  Manuel 
Nunez.  Presently  I  thought  of  Pharaoh 
Nanjulian. 

"And  yourself?"  I  said.  "What  will  he 
do  with  you?" 

"I  am  to  share  your  fate,  master.  Senor 
Nunez  is  a  good  and  pious  son  of  Mother 
Church,  and  he  will  wipe  out  a  score  or 


IN    THE    DAYS   OF    DRAKE.  81 

two  of  sins  by  presenting  the  stake  with 
two  English  heretics." 

After  that  I  thought  again  for  a  time. 

"Pharaoh,"  I  said  at  last,  "we  will  not  die 
very  willingly.  I  have  a  good  deal  to  live 
for.  There  is  my  sweetheart  and  my  uncle 
to  go  back  to,  and  also  I  have  an  account 
to  settle  with  Jasper  Stapleton.  I  will 
make  an  effort  to  do  all  this  before  my  time 
comes." 

"I  am  with  you,  master,"  said  he. 

"Have  you  thought  of  anything?"  I 
asked. 

"Nothing,  but  that  we  must  escape,"  he 
answered. 

"Could  we  manage  that  after  the  ship 
reaches  Vera  Cruz?" 

"No,  for  a  surety.  We  shall  be  watched 
as  cats  watch  mice.  If  we  ever  set  foot  on 
a  quay-side  in  that  accursed  port,  master, 
we  are  dead  men.  God  help  us!  I  know 
what  the  mercies  of  these  Spaniards  are. 
I  stood  in  the  City  of  Mexico  and  saw  two 


82  IN    THE    DAYS    OF   DRAKE. 

Englishmen  burnt.  That  was  ten  years 
ago.  But  more  of  that  anon.  Let  us  see 
to  the  present.  We  are  dead  men,  I  say,  if 
we  set  foot  in  Vera  Cruz,  or  any  port  of 
that  cruel  region." 

"Then  there  is  but  one  thing  for  us,"  I 
said. 

"And  that,  master?" 

"We  must  leave  this  ship  before  she 
drops  anchor." 

"That  is  a  good  notion,"  said  he,  "a.  right 
good  notion;  but  the  thing  is,  how  to  do 
it?" 

"Could  we  not  take  one  of  the  boats 
some  night,  and  get  away  in  it?" 

"Aye,  but  there  are  many  things  to  con- 
sider. We  should  have  to  victual  it,  and 
then  we  might  run  short,  for  we  should 
have  no  compass,  and  no  notion,  or  very 
little,  of  our  direction.  We  might  starve 
to  death,  or  die  of  thirst." 

"I  had  as  soon  die  of  thirst  or  hunger, 
as  of  fire  and  torture." 


IN   THE    DAYS    OP   DRAKE.  82 

"Marry,  and  so  would  I.  Yea,  it  were 
better  to  die  here  on  the  wide  ocean  than  in 
the  market-place  of  Mexico  or  Vera  Cruz." 

"Let  us  try  it,  Pharaoh.  Devise  some 
plan.  I  will  not  fail  to  help  if  I  can  be  of 
any  use." 

"I  will  think,"  he  said;  "I  will  think  till  I 
find  a  means  of  escape.  I  reckon  that  we 
have  still  a  month  before  us.  It  shall  go 
hard  if  our  English  brains  cannot  devise 
some  method  whereby  we  may  outwit  these 
Spanish  devils." 

So  we  began  to  plot  and  plan,  spurred 
on  by  the  knowledge  of  what  awaited  us  in 
Mexico. 


84  IN   THE    DAYS    OF   DRAKE. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

WE  ESCAPE  THE  SPANIARDS. 

Now  that  I  knew  his  real  sentiments 
towards  me,  it  was  very  difficult  to  preserve 
my  composure  and  indifference  in  the  pres- 
ence of  Captain  ]\Ianuel  Nunez.  As  I  sat 
at  table  with  him,  or  talked  with  him  on 
deck  or  in  his  cabin,  I  had  hard  work  to 
keep  from  telling  him  my  real  thoughts  of 
his  wicked  nature.  Nay,  sometimes  I  was 
sore  put  to  it  to  keep  my  hands  from  his 
throat.  Nothing  would  have  pleased  me 
better  than  to  find  either  him  or  my  cousin 
Jasper  in  some  lonely  spot  where  no  odds 
could  have  favored  them  or  me.  Then  my 
wrongs  should  have  received  full  ven- 
geance, and  none  would  have  blamed  me 
for  meting  it  out  to  these  two  villains. 
Judge  how  hard  it  was  for  me  to  have  to 
associate,  week  after  week,  with  one  of  the 


IN    THE    DAYS    OF    DRAKE.  85 

men  who  had  so  deeply  wronged  me,  and, 
moreover,  to  have  to  preserve  towards  him 
a  certain  degree  of  cordiality.  Try  as  I 
would,  however,  I  could  not  give  Nunez 
as  much  in  the  way  of  politeness  as  Nunez 
gave  me.  My  manners  were  surly  at  the 
best,  and  I  had  much  ado  to  preserve  them 
at  all. 

Getting  in  the  way  of  fair  winds,  we 
sighted  the  Bahamas,  and  passed  the  north- 
west coast  of  Cuba  somewhere  about  the 
beginning  of  September.  We  were  then 
some  five  hundred  miles  from  Vera  Cruz, 
but  it  was  not  until  Christmas  week  that 
we  bore  down  upon  the  Mexican  coast.  It 
was,  I  think,  on  Christmas  morning  that  I 
first  saw  the  shores  of  that  beautiful  land, 
whose  natural  loveliness  served  but  to 
make  more  evident  the  horrible  cruelties 
of  the  men  who  had  seized  and  possessed  it. 
Fair  and  wonderful  it  was  as  the  mists 
lifted  under  the  sun's  warmth  to  see  the 
giant  peak    of    Orizaba    lifting  its   head, 


86  IN    THE    DAYS    OF    DRAKE. 

snow-white  and  awful,  into  the  clear  air, 
while  full  seventeen  thousand  feet  below 
it  the  land  lay  dim  and  indistinct,  nothing 
more  than  a  bank  of  gray  cloud. 

"You  would  think  a  country  with  such  a 
mountain  as  that  would  be  a  place  of  much 
delight,  master,  would  you  not?"  said  Pha- 
raoh Nanjulian,  pointing  to  the  great  white 
peak.  "It  looks  fair  and  innocent  enough, 
but  it  is  a  very  devil's  land,  this  Mexico, 
since  the  Spaniards  overran  it ;  and  yonder 
peak  is  an  emblem  of  nothing  in  it,  except 
it  be  the  innocence  of  those  who  are  mur- 
dered in  God's  name." 

"What  mountain  is  that?"  I  inquired. 

"Orizaba,  master.  It  lies  some  sixty 
miles  beyond  Vera  Cruz,  and  is  of  a  height 
scarcely  credible  to  us  Englishmen.  God 
be  thanked  that  there  is  so  little  wind  to- 
day! With  a  fair  breeze  we  should  have 
been  in  port  ere  nightfall.  As  it  is,  we 
must  take  our  chance  to-night,  master,  or 
fall  into  the  hands  of  the  Inquisition." 


IN    THE    DAYS   OF    DRAKE.  87 

"I  am  ready  for  aught,"  said  I.  "But 
have  you  thought  of  a  plan?" 

"Aye,  trust  me  for  that.  Marry!  I  have 
thought  of  naught  else  since  we  camg 
through  the  Bahamas.  Certainly  our 
chances  are  exceedingly  small,  for  we  must 
needs  land  in  a  country  that  is  infested  with 
our  enemies,  but  we  will  do  our  best." 

"Tell  me  your  plan,  Pharaoh." 

"  'Tis  simplicity  itself,  master.  To-night 
it  is  my  watch.  When  the  captain  is  asleep 
in  his  cabin,  do  you  come  on  deck  and  go 
aft.  You  will  find  a  boat  alongside,  and 
into  it  you  must  contrive  to  get  as  you  best 
can.  Hide  yourself  there  so  that  no  one 
can  see  you  from  the  deck.  When  the 
watch  is  changed,  instead  of  going  forward 
I  shall  make  for  the  boat.  No  one  will  see 
me,  I  promise  you.  When  I  am  with  you 
we  shall  cut  the  boat  adrift  and  let  the  ves- 
sel outsail  us.  Then  we  must  make  for  the 
coast  in  the  direction  of  Tuxtla.  We  shall 
know  which  way  to  steer  because  of  the 


88  IN    THE    DAYS    OF    DRAKE. 

volcano.  But  after  that — why,  I  know  not 
what  we  shall  do." 

"Have  you  no  plan?" 

"Marry,  I  have  ideas.  We  might  go 
across  country  to  Acapulco,  hoping  to  find 
there  an  English  ship;  but  'tis  a  long  and 
weary  way,  and  what  with  Indians  and  wild 
beasts  I  fear  we  should  never  get  there. 
Howbeit  let  us  tackle  one  danger  at  a 
time." 

Being  then  called  to  dinner  I  went  be- 
low, and  was  perforce  once  more  obliged 
to  sit  at  meat  with  my  jailer,  who,  now 
that  his  charge  of  me  was  coming  to  an 
end,  was  more  polite  than  ever,  and  treated 
me  with  exceeding  great  courtesy. 

"You  have  been  on  deck.  Master  Sal- 
keld,"  said  he,  "and  have  doubtless  per- 
ceived that  we  are  in  sight  of  land." 

"I  have  seen  the  great  mountain,  Senor," 
I  answered. 

"True,  the  land  is  yet  little  more  than  a 
line.     If  the  wind  had  been  fair  we  should 


IN    THE    DAYS    OP    DRAKE.  89 

have  dropped  anchor  ere  midnight.  Your 
voyage  has  been  a  long  one,  but  I  trust  you 
have  not  been  inconvenienced." 

"Only  as  a  man  may  be  by  the  loss  of  his 
liberty,  Senor." 

"You  will  soon  be  free,"  he  answered, 
giving  me  one  of  his  strange,  mocking 
smiles.  "And  I  trust  that  when  we  part  it 
will  be  with  a  full  recognition  on  your  side 
of  the  way  in  which  I  have  carried  out  our 
bargain." 

"As  I  do  not  remember  our  bargain, 
Senor,  I  am  afraid  that  is  hardly  possible," 
I  made  answer. 

"Chut!  your  memory  is  certainly  at 
fault.  However,  the  facts  will  probably 
occur  to  you — later." 

"Part  of  the  bargain,  if  I  remember  your 
first  mention  of  it,  Senor,  was  that  you 
should  carry  me  to  the  West  Indies." 

"You  are  right  in  that,"  said  he. 

"Are  we  approaching  the  West  Indies?" 

"The  West  Indies  is  a  wide  term,  Master 


90  IN   THE    DAYS    OF   DRAKE. 

Salkeld.  We  are  certainly  not  approach- 
ing the  West  India  islands.  We  are,  in 
fact,  off  the  coast  of  Mexico,  and  the  moun- 
tain you  see  in  the  distance  is  the  famed 
peak  of  Orizaba.  To-morrow  morning  we 
shall  drop  anchor  in  the  port  of  Vera 
Cruz." 

"And  what  shall  I  do  there,  Senor?" 

He  smiled  at  the  question — a  mysterious 
smile,  which  had  a  grim  meaning  behind  it. 

"Who  knows,  Senor?  There  are  many 
occupations  for  a  young  and  active  gentle- 
man." 

Now,  for  the  life  of  me  I  could  not  help 
asking  him  a  very  pertinent  question  be- 
fore I  left  the  cabin  to  return  on  deck. 

"Senor,"  I  said,  "seeing  that  we  are  to 
part  so  soon  you  will  perhaps  not  object  to 
giving  me  some  information.  How  much 
did  my  cousin.  Master  Jasper  Stapleton, 
pay  you  for  your  share  in  this  matter?" 

He  gave  me  a  curious  glance  out  of  his 
eye  corners. 


IN    THE    DAYS    OP    DRAKE.  91 

"The  amount  of  your  passage-money, 
Master  Salkeld,  was  two  hundred  English 
guineas.  I  hope  you  consider  the  poor  ac- 
commodation which  I  have  been  able  to 
give  you  in  accordance  with  that  sum." 

"I  have  no  fault  to  find  with  the  accom- 
modation, Senor,"  I  replied.  "So  far  as 
the  bodily  comfort  of  your  prisoner  was 
concerned  you  have  proved  yourself  a 
good  jailer." 

"Let  us  hope  you  will  never  find  a  worse, 
Master  Salkeld,"  he  answered,  with  an- 
other mocking  smile.  "But,  indeed,  you 
wrong  me  in  speaking  of  me  as  a  jailer. 
Say  rather  a  kind  and  considerate  host." 

I  repressed  the  words  which  lay  on  the 
tip  of  my  tongue  ready  to  fling  at  him,  and 
went  on  deck.  The  wind  was  still  against 
us,  and  the  ship  made  little  progress,  for 
which  both  Pharaoh  and  I  were  devoutly 
thankful,  neither  of  us  being  minded  to 
make  Vera  Cruz  ere  night  fell.  Certainly 
there  was  little  to  choose  between  the  two 


92  IN    THE    DAYS    OF    DRAKE. 

courses  open  to  us.  If  we  were  handed 
over  to  the  Inquisitors  by  Nunez,  we 
should  certainly  be  burned  at  the  stake,  or, 
at  any  rate,  racked,  tortured,  and  turned 
over  to  a  slave-master.  If  we  reached 
shore  we  should  have  to  undergo  many 
privations  and  face  all  manner  of  perils, 
with  every  probability  of  ultimately  falling 
into  the  hands  of  the  Spaniards  once  more. 
Indeed,  so  certain  did  it  seem  that  we 
should  eventually  meet  our  fate  at  the 
stake,  or  the  rack,  that  more  than  once  I 
doubted  whether  it  was  worth  our  while  to 
attempt  an  escape. 

But  life  is  sweet,  however  dark  its  pros- 
pects may  be,  and  a  true  man  will  always 
fight  for  it,  though  the  odds  against  him 
are  great.  And,  moreover,  when  a  man 
knows  what  manner  of  death  it  is  that 
awaits  him,  he  will  make  the  most  desper- 
ate efforts  to  escape  it,  if  it  be  such  a  death 
as  that  intended  for  us  by  the  Spaniards. 
Now,  although  I  had  lived  in  such  an  out- 


IN    THE    DAYS   OF    DRAKE.  93 

of-the-way  part  of  England,  I  had  heard 
many  a  fearful  story  of  the  wrongs  and 
cruelties  practiced  by  the  Inquisitors  in 
Mexico.  Tales  came  across  the  wide 
ocean  of  rackings  and  tormentings  and 
burnings,  of  men  given  over  to  slavery, 
wearing  their  San-benitos  for  many  a  weary 
year,  and  perhaps  dying  of  torture  in  the 
end.  We  would  do  something  to  escape 
a  fate  like  that,  God  helping  us! 

Late  that  night  Captain  Nunez  stood  by 
my  side  on  deck.  The  wind  now  blew 
from  the  north-west,  and  the  ship  was  mak- 
ing headway  towards  land.  To  the  south- 
east, through  the  darkness,  glimmered  the 
volcanic  fire  of  Tuxtla,  but  the  giant  peak 
of  Orizaba  had  disappeared. 

"To-morrow  at  sunrise,  Master  Salkeld, 
we  shall  be  in  the  port  of  Vera  Cruz,"  said 
Nunez.  "I  have  some  friends  there  to 
whom  I  will  give  you  an  introduction.  Till 
then,  Senor,  sleep  well." 

He   smiled    at   me   in    the   dim   lantern 


94  IN    THE    DAYS    OF    DRAKE. 

light  and  went  below.  I  remained  pacing 
the  deck  for  another  hour.  Once  or  twice 
I  looked  over  the  side  and  saw  the  boat 
swinging  below  our  stern.  Now,  the  poop 
of  the  Spanish  ship  was  of  a  more  than 
usual  height,  and  I  foresaw  that  I  should 
have  some  difficulty  in  getting  into  the 
boat,  and  run  a  fair  chance  of  drowning. 
Better  drown,  I  thought,  than  burn;  and 
so,  after  a  time,  the  deck  being  quiet,  I 
climbed  over  the  side  and  managed  to  drop 
into  the  boat,  where  I  made  haste  to  hide 
myself  as  I  best  could. 

It  was  some  two  hours  after  that  when 
Pharaoh  Nanjulian  joined  me,  and  imme- 
diately cut  us  adrift. 

The  ship  seemed  to  glide  away  from  us 
into  the  darkness. 


IN  IHE  DAYS   OF   DRAKE.  95 


CHAPTER  VIII. 
AN  UNKNOWN  LAND. 

Now,  although  we  were  adrift  in  a  peril- 
ous sea,  and  had  no  hope  of  making  land, 
save  in  a  wild  and  savage  country,  where 
there  was  more  hope  of  mercy  from  the 
Indians  than  from  the  civilized  Spaniards, 
I  was  yet  so  thankful  to  find  myself  free  of 
the  ship  and  of  Senor  Manuel  Nunez,  that 
for  some  moments  I  could  scarcely  believe 
in  my  freedom. 

"I  could  swear  that  I  am  but  dreaming 
and  shall  presently  awake  to  find  myself 
a  prisoner,"  I  said  to  Pharaoh,  who  was 
busily  engaged  in  examining  the  boat. 

'"Tis  no  dream,  master,"  said  he.  "This 
is  a  very  stern  reality,  as  you  shall  quickly 
find.  Nor  is  it  time  for  dreaming.  If  we 
mean  to  come  out  of  this  adventure  with 


96  IN   THE    DAYS    OF   DRAKE. 

whole  skins,  we  shall  have  to  acquit  our- 
selves like  true  men." 

"I  am  ready,"  said  I.  'Tell  me  what  to 
do,  and  I  will  do  it." 

"Well  said,"  he  answered  approvingly. 
"But  I  could  see  from  the  outset  that  you 
had  the  true  spirit  in  you.  You  are  a  York- 
shireman,  master,  and  I  am  a  sea-dog  of 
Cornwall;  but,  marry,  we  are  both  Eng- 
lishmen, and  we  will  come  out  of  this 
scrape  yet.  'Tis  not  the  worst  I  have  been 
in — but  more  of  that  anon.  Now  to  begin 
with,  we  will  discuss  our  present  situation, 
and  then,  having  determined  our  course  of 
action,  we  will  put  it  into  execution.'' 

So  we  talked  things  over,  and  eventually 
came  to  these  conclusions.  We  were,  so 
far  as  Pharaoh  could  reckon,  about  ten 
miles  from  land,  and  we  must  reach  the 
coast  during  the  nig'ht  if  we  wished  to  es- 
cape observation.  That  accomplished,  we 
must  strike  across  country  for  Acapulco, 
where  it  was  possible  we  might  meet  with 


IN  THE   DAYS   OF   DRAKE.  97 

an  English  ship.  The  distance  was  some 
three  hundred  miles  in  a  bee-line,  and  the 
character  of  the  country  rough;  but  that 
mattered  little,  for  we  should  of  necessity 
be  obliged  to  keep  away  from  the  roads 
and  bridges.  There  was  no  considerable 
town  on  our  way,  save  Oaxaca,  and  that 
we  must  leave  to  our  left.  If  we  fell  in 
with  Spaniards  we  were  lost  men,  for  they 
would  certainly  carry  us  to  Vera  Cruz  or 
to  Mexico,  and  there  hand  us  over  to  the 
Inquisitors.  As  for  wild  beasts  and  In- 
dians, we  must  take  our  chance,  trusting 
in  God's  mercy  for  protection  and  help. 

We  now  examined  the  boat,  which  was 
but  a  small  craft  that  had  been  unstrung 
the  day  before,  in  order  that  the  ship's  car- 
penter might  examine  some  fancied  defect 
in  the  rudder.  Fortunately  a  pair  of  oars 
had  been  left  in  her,  and  these  Pharaoh 
now  took  in  hand,  bidding  me  steer  for  the 
volcanic  flame,  which  played  over  the  peak 
of  Tuxtla,  immediately  before  us. 
1 


98  IN    THE   DAYS    OF    DRAKE. 

"I  can  pull  ten  miles  in  this  sea,"  said  he, 
"and  I  warrant  you  have  had  little  experi- 
ence in  that  line,  master.  Now,  you  see 
that  the  wind  has  drifted  us  due  south  un- 
til to-night,  and  therefore 'Nunez  has  come 
some  five-and-thirty  miles  out  of  his  course 
for  Vera  Cruz,  He  will  now  beat  up  along 
the  coast,  heading  north  and  west,  and  so 
if  we  steer  south-by-east  he  will  have  hard 
work  to  catch  us  when  he  finds  that  we  are 
gone,  as  he  will  ere  morning.  And  now  to 
work." 

Thereupon  he  fell  to  the  oars,  and  with 
such  good-will,  that  the  light  craft,  her 
nose  kept  towards  the  volcanic  fire,  began 
to  shoot  through  the  regular  swell  of  the 
placid  ocean  at  a  comfortable  rate.  Hour 
after  hour  he  toiled,  and  would  hear  naught 
of  my  relieving  him,  though  his  throat 
grew  dry  with  thirst  and  his  arms  ached. 
Gradually  the  coast  loomed  higher  and 
higher  through  the  gloom,  and  at  length 
Pharaoh  pulled  in  his  oars,  and  stood  up  in 
the  bow  to  look  around  him. 


IN    THE    DAYS    OF    DRAKE.  99 

"When  I  was  off  this  coast  ten  years 
ago,"  said  he,  "I  remember  a  spot  here- 
abouts where  a  boat  might  land  with  safety 
and  ease.  We  will  lie  quiet  till  the  light 
comes,  master,  and  then  attempt  a  land- 
ing." 

"But  suppose  Nunez  should  see  us?" 

"He  could  not  catch  us  ere  we  land  if 
he  did,  unless  by  some  strange  chance  be 
has  gotten  to  the  east  of  us — and  that's  not 
possible,"  said  Pharaoh.  "I  reckon  that 
by  this  time  he  is  twenty  miles  to  westward 
of  us,  and  therefore  we  are  well  out  of  his 
reach." 

So  we  hove-to  until  the  morning  began 
to  break,  when,  spying  a  convenient  creek, 
we  ran  the  boat  ashore,  and  so  set  foot  on 
Mexican  soil,  wondering  what  was  to  be- 
fall us  next. 

Now,  to  me,  who  had  never  seen  aught 
of  any  land  save  England,  these  new  sur- 
roundings were  exceeding  strange  and 
wonderful.     Although  it  was  yet  but  a  half- 


100  IN    THE    DAYS    OF   DRAKE. 

light  all  round  us  on  shore,  the  giant  peak 
of  Orizaba,  rising  high  and  magnificent 
across  the  land  to  the  north-west,  was  al- 
ready blazing  in  the  saffron-colored  tints 
of  early  morning,  while  directly  above  us 
the  lower  heights  of  Tuxtla  also  reflected 
the  rays  of  the  rising  sun.  Once  away 
from  the  shore  the  vegetation  surprised 
and  delighted  me  exceedingly.  Great 
trees,  such  as  I  had  never  seen  or  heard  of, 
sprang  from  the  rocks  and  towered  above 
us  like  gigantic  ferns;  the  undergrowth 
was  thick  and  luxurious,  and  the  grass  un- 
der foot  was  soft  and  heavy  as  velvet.  Also, 
though  it  was  winter,  there  were  flowers 
and  plants  blossoming  in  the  open  such  as 
never  blossom  in  our  English  glass-houses, 
so  that  altogether  I  was  amazed  at  the  rich- 
ness and  prodigality  of  the  land,  and  said 
so  to  my  companion. 

"Aye,"  said  he,  "  'tis  indeed  a  fair  land, 
master,  and  would  be  very  well  if  these 
murderous  Spaniards  had  left  it  alone.    As 


IN    THE    DAYS    OF    DRAKE.  101 

it  is,  they  have  simply  turned  it  into  a  pan- 
demonium, such  as  all  lands,  fair  or  foul, 
become  when  men  go  a-lusting  for  gold 
and  treasure.  Yea,  not  even  the  Indians, 
with  all  their  heathenish  practices,  were 
half  so  cruel  as  these  Spaniards  with  their 
racks  and  thumb-screws,  their  stakes  and 
daggers.  And  therefore  the  more  reason 
why  we  should  avoid  them." 

Having  somewhat  refreshed  ourselves 
by  a  brief  rest,  and  armed  ourselves  with 
two  stout  cudgels  cut  from  a  neighboring 
tree  by  Pharaoh's  knife,  which  was  the  only 
weapon  we  had,  we  set  forth  through  the 
woods,  he  leading  the  way.  By  that  time 
we  were  faint  with  hunger  and  could  well 
have  done  with  a  meal,  but  though  there 
were,  doubtless,  Indian  villages  close  at 
hand  we  dare  enter  none  of  them,  and 
so  went  forward  with  empty  stomachs.  In 
the  woods,  however,  we  came  upon  prickly 
pears,  which  there  grow  wild,  and  these  we 
essayed  to  eat;   but  had  g^reat  difficulty  in 


102  IN    THE    DAYS    OF    DRAKE. 

stripping  them  of  the  prickles,  which,  if 
they  enter  the  tongue,  do  cause  an  unpleas- 
antness that  is  not  soon  forgot.  Our  hun- 
ger growing  very  keen  we  sought  to  cap- 
ture or  slay  some  bird  or  animal,  and  Phar- 
aoh being  accustomed  to  this  sort  of  hunt- 
ing— for  he  had  known  many  adventures 
— presently  succeeded  in  knocking  down  a 
wild  turkey,  flocks  of  which  bird  we  con- 
stantly encountered.  We  lighted  a  fire  by 
means  of  his  flint  and  steel,  and  cooked 
our  quarry,  and  so  went  forward  again  re- 
freshed by  the  food,  which  was  pleasant 
enough  to  hungry  men. 

We  pressed  on  for  two  days  through  the 
woods,  living  as  we  best  could  upon  such 
animals  as  Pharaoh  was  able  to  knock 
down,  and  on  the  pears,  which  were  all  the 
more  aggravating  to  our  hunger  because  of 
their  sharp  spines.  During  those  two  days 
we  did  not  come  in  contact  with  human 
beings,  though  we  thrice  saw  parties  of 
Indians  and  had  tp  conceal  ourselves  from 


IN   THE    DAYS    OF    DRAKE.  103 

them.  We  followed  no  path,  and  if  we 
chanced  to  cross  one  we  immediately  left  it 
and  plunged  deeper  into  the  woods.  By 
the  end  of  the  first  day  our  clothes  were 
torn  to  rags,  and  hung  in  strips  from  our 
backs ;  by  the  end  of  the  second  our  shoes 
had  been  cut  to  pieces,  and  so  we  looked 
as  wretched  and  lost  a  couple  of  vagabonds 
as  you  ever  saw. 

On  the  evening  of  the  second  day  we 
came  to  the  verge  of  the  wooded  heights, 
and  saw  before  us  the  wide  plain  of  Ori- 
zaba, which  lay  between  us  and  Acapulco, 
and  must  needs  be  crossed  if  we  meant  to 
reach  the  Pacific  coast. 

"It  is  here  that  I  see  most  reason  to  be 
a-feared,"  said  Pharaoh,  as  we  halted  and 
looked  out  across  the  plain.  'There  is  pre- 
cious little  cover  or  shelter  on  this  plain, 
and  it  will  be  a  miracle  if  we  escape  obser- 
vation in  crossing  it.  Moreover,  there  are 
constantly  traversing  it  bodies  of  Span- 
iards, going  to  and  from  Oaxaca  and  Mex- 


104  IN    THE    DAYS    OF    DRAKE. 

ico,  so  that  we  shall  be  liable  to  capture  at 
any  moment,  having  nowhere  to  hide  our- 
selves." 

"How  would  it  do  to  hide  ourselves  as 
we  best  can  by  day,  and  to  go  forward  by 
night?"  said  I. 

"  Tis  a  good  notion,  master,  and  we  will 
try  it,"  he  answered.  "But  I  fear  me  there 
is  little  in  w^hich  we  can  hide,  and  as  for 
food,  I  do  not  see  how  w-e  are  to  manage. 
Howbeit,  we  will  not  despair  yet  awhile, 
having  managed  so  far.'' 

That  night  we  accordingly  made  our  way 
across  the  wide  and  lonely  plain,  having 
for  our  guide  the  constellation  Virgo, 
which  Pharaoh  Nanjulian  knew  and  point- 
ed out  to  me  with  some  learning. 

"Them  that  go  down  to  the  sea  in  ships," 
said  he,  "must  needs  learn  a  good  deal  if 
they  would  prosper.  I  have  studied  the 
heavens  somewhat,  because  more  than 
once  it  has  been  my  lot  to  find  myself  at 
sea  without  a  compass,  and  in  a  plight  like 


IN    THE    DAYS    OF    DRAKE.  105 

that  a  knowledge  of  the  stars  and  planets  is 
a  good  thing  for  a  man  to  have  at  his  com- 
mand. Now,  if  we  do  but  set  our  faces  to 
yonder  constellation  we  shall  keep  in  a 
straight  line  for  Acapulco — and  God  send 
we  may  land  there  safely!'' 

We  made  fairly  good  progress  across  the 
plain,  but  when  morning  broke  from  the 
eastern  horizon  we  were  still  many  a  long 
mile  from  the  great  terrace  of  mountainous 
land  which  divides  Mexico  from  Oaxaca 
and  the  Pacific  coast.  Therefore  we  had  to 
cast  about  us  for  some  shelter.  This  we 
had  great  difficulty  in  securing,  for  the 
plain  at  that  part  was  entirely  barren  of 
shrub  or  tree,  and  there  was  not  even  a 
water-course  at  which  we  could  slack  our 
parched  throats.  But  coming  upon  a  half- 
ruined  hut,  which  had  evidently  been  the 
home  of  some  Mexican  Indian,  tending 
his  sheep  in  those  wild  parts,  we  took  ref- 
uge in  it  and  lay  down  to  sleep,  hoping 
that  no  one  passing  that  way  would  feel  cu- 


106  IN    THE    DAYS    OF    DRAKE. 

rious  enough    to    stop  and  examine  our 
shelter. 

This  sort  of  life  continued  to  be  our  lot 
for  another  day  and  night,  during  which 
we  had  scarcely  anything  in  the  way  of 
food,  and  also  sufifered  severely  from  thirst. 
And  what  with  this,  and  with  our  fear  of 
meeting  Indians  and  Spaniards  materially 
increased,  our  condition  was  by  no  means 
a  happy  one.  But  we  still  continued  to 
hope,  and  to  cheer  each  other  onward. 


IN    THE   DAYS   OF    DRAKE.  107 


CHAPTER  IX. 
AN  ADVENTURE  OF  SOME  IMPORTANCE. 

We  traveled  in  this  fashion,  sleeping  in 
the  daytime  and  pressing  forward  during 
the  night,  until  the  sixth  day  after  our  de- 
parture from  the  ship.  By  that  time  we 
were  both  considerably  changed  in  health 
and  appearance.  Our  clothes  were  torn  to 
rags,  our  feet  and  arms  were  torn  and  bleed- 
ing, and  our  vagabond  air  increased  with 
every  mile  we  covered.  Of  our  looks,  how- 
ever, we  thought  nothing;  but  we  were 
perforce  obliged  to  think  a  good  deal  of 
our  unfortunate  stomachs,  which  had  not 
been  either  filled  or  reasonably  satisfied 
since  we  set  foot  in  those  regions.  Hunger 
and  privation,  in  short,  were  doing  their 
work  upon  us,  and  we  were  doubtful  if  we 
should  manage  to  hold  out  until  we  had 
crossed  the  coimtry  and  made  Acapulco, 


108  IN    THE    DAYS    OF    DRAKE. 

Towards  evening  of  the  sixth  day  of  our 
travels,  we  were  lying  asleep  in  a  little  gully 
formed  by  the  descent  of  a  mountain  stream 
into  the  plain  which  we  were  then  quitting. 
We  had  arrived  at  this  spot  early  that 
morning,  and  finding  sweet  and  fresh  wa- 
ter there  had  drunk  heartily  of  it  and  lain 
down  to  sleep  in  a  sheltered  spot.  We 
were  both  well-nigh  exhausted  that  morn- 
ing, and  our  hunger  was  exceeding  fierce; 
but  sharp-set  as  we  were  our  limbs  re- 
fused to  carry  us  on  any  foraging  expedi- 
tion, and  therefore  we  sank  to  sleep,  and 
slept  despite  our  hunger  and  danger.  It 
was  well  towards  evening  when  I  suddenly 
awoke.  I  know  not  what  it  was  that  made 
me  open  my  eyes  so  suddenly,  but  there 
flashed  through  my  mind  at  that  moment 
a  notion  that  we  were  being  watched.  It 
was  a  strange  feeling,  and  one  that  occa- 
sioned me  considerable  discomposure,  not 
to  say  fright,  and  it  seemed  to  enter  my 
brain  with  the  same  ray  of  sunlight  that 


IN   THE   DAYS   OF   DRAKE.  109 

lifted  my  eyelids.  And  so  strong'  was  this 
feeling,  that  I  experienced  no  surprise  or 
astonishment  when  I  saw  two  eyes  look- 
ing straight  into  mine  from  over  the  top 
of  a  rock  which  rose  immediately  in  front. 
Nevertheless  it  was  a  hideous  and  fearful 
sight  that  I  looked  upon.  The  eyes  shone, 
not  out  of  a  human  face  foul  or  fair,  but  out 
of  the  slits  in  a  black  cowl,  drawn  so  tightly 
over  its  wearer's  head  that  nothing  of  him 
was  to  be  seen  from  forehead  to  chin. 
There  was  this  horrible  black  thing,  a  blot 
upon  the  bright  sunlit  sky  behind,  peeping 
at  me  from  over  the  rock,  and  out  of  its 
eye-holes  gleamed  two  eyes,  as  keen  and 
bright  as  those  of  a  wild  animal.  If  I  had 
not  just  then  been  parched  with  thirst  I 
should  have  screamed  in  my  terror.  As  it 
was,  I  gave  a  feeble  cry,  and  the  black  head 
instantly  vanished.  I  leapt  to  my  feet  and 
ran  forward  to  the  rock.  Below  it  the 
ground  was  broken  and  rocky,  and  at  a 
few  yards'   distance   was  a   belt   of  wood 


no  IN    THE   DAYS    OP    DRAKE. 

which  stretched  down  to  the  plain.  I  fan- 
cied I  could  see  a  black  robe  disappearing 
amongst  the  trees,  but  though  I  waited  a 
few  moments  I  saw  no  further  signs  of  a 
human  being. 

I  returned  to  Pharaoh  Nanjulian  and 
woke  him  up.  He  was  sound  asleep  when 
I  touched  him,  but  started  to  his  feet  as 
soon  as  I  laid  my  hand  on  his  shoulder. 

"What  is  it,  master?"  he  asked,  scanning 
my  face  narrowly,  as  if  he  saw  some  sign 
of  disturbance  there.    "You  look  alarmed." 

"I  have  seen  a  man  watching  us." 

"What  kind  of  a  man?  Where  has  he 
gone?" 

"Nay,  that  I  know  not.  When  I  opened 
my  eyes  just  now  they  fell  full  upon  him. 
He  stood  behind  that  rock,  peering  over  it 
at  me.  I  saw  naught  of  him  but  his  head, 
and  that  was  hidden  in  a  black  cowl  with 
eye-slits,  through  which  his  eyes  gleamed 
like  fire." 

Pharaoh  shook  his  head. 


IN    THE    DAYS    OF    DRAKE.  Ill 

"  'Tis  a  Familiar,"  said  he.  "One  of  those 
accursed  fanatics,  master,  that  dog-  and  pry 
after  honest  men  like  sleuth-hounds,  and 
leave  them  not  until  the  flame  licks  their 
bodies.  This  is  bad  news,  i'  faith.  Which 
way  went  he?" 

I  told  him  that  I  thought  I  had  seen  a 
black  robe  vanishing  among  the  trees  be- 
low, but  could  not  be  certain.  At  that  he 
seized  his  stafif  and  went  down  the  slope 
himself,  examining  all  the  likely  places  in 
which  a  man  might  have  concealed  him- 
self. But  he  found  naught,  and  so  came 
back  to  me,  shaking  his  head. 

"You  are  sure  you  were  not  dreaming?" 
he  asked.  "Men  dream  of  strange  things 
when  hunger  is  on  them." 

"How  could  I  dream  of  what  I  never 
saw  in  my  life?"  said  I. 

"You  mean  the  black  hood,  master? 
Alas!  I  have  seen  it,  and  so  has  many  a 
good  man,  to  his  sorrow.    Those  accursed 


112  IN    THE    DAYS    OP   DRAKE. 

fanatics!  They  creep  about  in  God's 
blessed  sunlight  like  reptiles.  You  should 
see  them  walk  the  streets.  Close  to  the 
walls  they  go,  their  hands  meekly  folded, 
their  cowled  heads  bent  to  the  ground,  and 
yet  their  eyes  note  everything.  God  is  on 
their  lips — yea,  but  the  devil  is  in  their 
hearts." 

"What  shall  we  do,  Pharaoh?"  I  asked 
him. 

"Marry,  all  we  can  do  is  to  leave  this 
spot  and  push  forward  up  the  mountains. 
There  are  yet  two  hours  of  daylight,  but 
we  must  chance  that.  If  we  can  escape 
this  fellow  until  darkness  sets  in,  we  may 
yet  give  him  the  slip  altogether." 

So  we  set  out  once  more,  our  bodies  re- 
freshed by  our  long  sleep,  but  the  hunger 
still  fiercely  gnawing  within  us.  We  were 
driven  to  plucking  the  prickly  pears  again, 
troublesome  as  was  the  peeling  of  them, 
for  we  could  eat  them  as  we  walked, 
whereas  if  we  had  gone  a-hunting  for  wild 


IN    THE   DAYS    OF    DRAKE.  112 

turkeys  or  rabbits  we  should  have  had  to 
Hg-ht  a  fire,  and  that  would  have  attracted 
attention  to  our  whereabouts.  However, 
we  were  successful  in  knocking  down  one 
or  two  birds,  and  these  we  took  along  with 
us,  intending  to  cook  them  as  soon  as  we 
considered  ourselves  in  safety. 

As  night  fell  we  emerged  from  the 
wooded  slope  up  which  we  had  painfully 
traveled,  and  found  ourselves  on  a  good 
road,  evidently  much  used  for  traffic. 

"This  must  be  the  highway  that  leads 
from  Oaxaca  to  Vera  Cruz,''  said  Pharaoh, 
looking  out  upon  it  from  a  sheltering  tree; 
"and  lo!  yonder  is  a  post-house.  We  must 
bide  awhile  where  we  are  or  we  shall  be 
seen." 

So  we  sat  down  amongst  the  under- 
growth, which  was  there  thick  and  luxuri- 
ous, as  it  was  in  every  wood  we  had  yet 
crossed,  and  served  to  conceal  us  very  well 
from  observation.  More  than  once,  as  we 
stayed  there,  we  heard  the  voices  of  people 


114  IN    THE   DAYS    OF    DRAKE. 

passing  along  the  highroad  above,  and  we 
judged  from  that,  that  if  we  ventured  to 
show  ourselves  upon  it  before  nightfall  we 
should  certainly  be  seen  and  stopped. 
Therefore,  apart  from  our  usual  hunger 
and  discomfort,  we  were  very  well  content 
to  remain  hidden  until  such  time  as  the 
coast  cleared. 

Now  about  dark,  and  just  as  we  were 
making  up  our  minds  to  a  fresh  start,  and 
wondering  how  we  should  fare  in  the 
mountainous  range  which  we  had  yet  to 
cross,  there  arose  not  far  away  along  the 
highroad  a  chorus  of  shouts  and  screams 
of  such  exceeding  bitterness,  that  we  felt 
sure  murder  was  being  done.  We  leapt 
to  our  feet  and  advanced  to  the  edge  of  the 
highway,  but  feared  to  go  further  lest  we 
should  be  seen. 

"'Tis  some  footpad  affray,"  said  Pha- 
raoh, "and  none  of  our  business." 

But  just  then  came  still  shriller  cries  of 
entreaty  for  help,  and  they  were  so  plead- 


IN   THE   DAYS   OF    DRAKE.  115 

ing  and  full  of  agony,  that  we  both  leapt 
into  the  road  with  one  accord. 

"That  is  a  woman's  voice,"  said  Pha- 
raoh, "We  must  needs  go  to  her  assistance, 
come  what  will.  Have  your  staff  in  readi- 
ness, master,  and  if  there  is  need,  strike 
hard." 

We  ran  swiftly  down  the  road  for  some 
fifty  yards,  and  then,  turning  a  sharp  cor- 
ner, came  suddenly  upon  the  cause  of  the 
disturbance.  In  the  middle  of  the  highway 
stood  a  coach,  drawn  by  two  mules,  and  on 
either  side  of  it  were  two  tall  fellows  of  fe- 
rocious aspect,  striving  to  drag  from  it  the 
occupants,  who  screamed  for  help  without 
ceasing.  There  was  no  driver  or  servant 
visible;  the  rogues  had  doubtless  escaped 
to  the  woods  at  the  first  sign  of  danger. 

"Take  the  two  on  the  left,"  said  Pharaoh, 
"and  get  in  the  first  blow,  master.  Look  out 
for  their  daggers." 

Now  I  had  never  been  engaged  in  a  fight 
since  the  days  when  Jasper  and  I  occasion- 


116  IN    THE   DAYS    OF    DRAKE. 

ally  came  to  fisticuffs  with  the  village  boys 
at  Beechcot,  but  I  felt  my  blood  warm  at 
the  notion  of  combat,  and  so  I  sprang  in 
between  the  two  desperadoes  who  were 
busy  at  the  left  side  of  the  coach,  and  laid 
my  staff  about  their  ears  with  hearty  good- 
will. They  were  trying  to  drag  an  old  man 
from  the  coach  when  we  came  up,  and 
were  threatening  him  with  what  I  took  to 
be  the  most  horrible  of  curses.  I  hit  one 
of  them  fair  and  square  on  the  shoulder 
before  he  knew  of  my  presence,  and  he  im- 
mediately turned  and  fled,  howling  like  a 
beaten  dog.  The  other  turned  on  me  with 
a  cruel-looking  knife,  but  I  knocked  it  out 
of  his  hand  with  a  blow  that  must  have 
broken  his  wrist,  and  he  too  fled  into  the 
woods  with  a  fearful  imprecation.  Mean- 
while, Pharaoh  had  beaten  off  his  men  on 
the  other  side;  one  was  limping  along  the 
highway  howling  with  pain,  and  the  other 
lay  on  the  ground  senseless.  We  had  car- 
ried the  fight  with  sharp  and  startling  ef- 
fect. 


IN    THE    DAYS    OF    DRAKE.  117 

Inside  the  coach  sat  an  old  gentleman 
and  a  young  girl,  and  both  were  so  fright- 
ened, that  when  we  assisted  them  to  alight 
they  were  nearly  speechless,  and  could  only 
sigh  and  moan.  Presently,  however,  the 
young  lady  found  her  tongue,  and  began 
to  pour  out  an  astonishingly  rapid  flow  of 
words  to  me,  none  of  which  I  understood, 
but  which  I  took  to  be  expressions  of  grati- 
tude. 

"Say  naught,"  whispered  Pharaoh  in  my 
ear,  "I  will  talk  to  them  in  their  own  lingo. 
Do  not  let  them  see  that  we  are  English." 

"Noble  gentlemen,"  said  the  old  man, 
presently  recovering  his  speech,  "I  know 
not  how  to  thank  you  for  this  valuable  as- 
sistance. Caramba!  if  you  had  not  ap- 
peared when  you  did  we  should  certainly 
have  had  our  throats  cut.  Isabella  mia, 
art  thou  safe?  Did  those  knaves  lay  finger 
on  thee?" 

"They  did  but  seize  me  by  the  wrist, 
father,"  answered  the  young  lady.  "But 
yourself — you  are  not  hurt?" 


118  IN    THE    DAYS    OF    DRAKE. 

"Nay,  child,  I  called  too  loudly  for  that. 
But  certainly  another  moment  would  have 
been  our  last.  Senor,  is  yonder  villain 
dead?" 

"Nay,"  said  Pharaoh  in  his  best  Spanish, 
"he  breathes,  Senor,  and  will  come  to  pres- 
ently." 

"I  am  beholden,  deeply  beholden  to  you 
both,  gentlemen.  Dios!  to  think  that  I 
should  be  unable  to  travel  on  even  so  short 
a  journey  with  safety!  And  my  own  ser- 
vants— where  are  they,  rascals  and  pol- 
troons that  they  are.  Ho!  Pedro,  Chispa, 
Antonio!  I  warrant  me  the  knaves  are  hid- 
ing in  these  woods." 

This  was  exactly  the  truth,  for  at  the  old 
gentleman's  call  three  serving-men  came 
forward  from  the  trees  and  advanced  trem- 
blingly towards  the  coach.  At  sight  of 
them  their  master  flew  into  a  terrible  rage, 
and  scolded  them  with  a  vigor  which  at 
any  other  time  would  have  amused  me 
highly. 


IN    THE    DAYS    OF    DRAKE.  119 

"Cowards  and  knaves  that  ye  are !"  quoth 
he.  "A  pretty  body-guard,  indeed.  What, 
ye  pitiful  rogues,  did  I  not  fit  ye  all  out 
with  pikes  and  pistols  before  quitting  Mex- 
ico in  case  we  met  with  ventures  of  this 
sort?  Oh,  ye  poltroons,  to  fly  me  at  the 
first  glimpse  of  danger!  And  thou,  Pedro 
Gomez,  my  coachman  these  ten  years,  fie 
upon  thee!" 

"Most  noble  Senor,"  said  the  man,  trem- 
bling and  bowing,  "I  did  but  run  to  find 
assistance." 

"Thou  liest,  knave.  Thou  didst  run  to 
save  thine  own  skin.  But  I  will  remember 
ye  when  we  are  safe  in  Oaxaca.  I  will  have 
a  convoy  of  soldiers  over  these  mountains, 
and  trust  not  to  pitiful  cowards  like  ye 
three.  Tie  me  up  this  robber  who  lies 
there  in  the  road,  and  fasten  him  behind 
the  coach.  We  will  see  justice  done  on  him 
at  Oaxaca." 

While  the  men  were  doing  this  the  old 
gentleman  once  more  talked  to  Pharaoh, 


120  IN    THE   DAYS    OP    DRAKE. 

thanking  us  again,  and  asking  how  he 
could  reward  us.  Were  we  journeying  to 
Oaxaca?  If  so,  let  us  go  along  with  him, 
and  he  would  reward  us  bounteously  for 
our  protection. 

"We  thank  your  honor,"  said  Pharaoh, 
"but  we  are  two  poor  shipwrecked  mari- 
ners, bound  across  country  to  Acapulco, 
where  we  hope  to  find  ship.  But  if  you 
would  give  us  food  and  drink  we  would 
thank  you,  for  in  good  sooth  we  arc  des- 
perately hungered." 

Now  it  luckily  chanced  that  the  coach 
was  well  supplied  with  both  the  commodi- 
ties which  we  desired  so  earnestly,  and, 
therefore,  the  old  gentleman  made  haste  to 
reward  us  according  to  Pharaoh's  request, 
so  that  presently  wc  found  ourselves  with 
our  arms  full  of  meat  and  bread  and  bottles 
of  wine,  our  new-found  friend  pressing  all 
upon  us  with  great  hospitality.  Also,  he 
would  have  us  to  take  a  purse  of  money, 
assuring  us  that  we  should  find  it  useful, 


IN    THE    DAYS    OF    DRAKE.  121 

and  as  we  had  not  a  penny-piece  between 
us  we  accepted  this  offering  with  thankful- 
ness. 

"I  am  sorry  that  ye  cannot  accompany 
me  to  Oaxaca,"  said  he.  "I  should  have 
been  glad  of  the  company  of  two  such  stal- 
wart champions.  But  know,  caballeros, 
that  I  am  devoutly  thankful  to  you,  and 
will  aid  you  if  ever  ye  have  need  of  me, 
and  it  lies  in  my  power." 

So  we  thanked  him  and  said  farewell  for 
that  time,  and  when  the  coach  had  gone 
on,  taking  the  wounded  prisoner  with  it, 
we  continued  our  way  up  the  mountains, 
first  supping  heartily  of  the  food  and  wine, 
and  blessing  God  for  it, 

"  'Tis  always  well  to  help  them  that  need 
help,''  said  Pharaoh.  "Verily  we  are  re- 
warded for  so  doing.  This  meat  and  drink 
makes  a  new  man  of  me,  master.'' 

And  so  it  did  of  me,  and  it  was  well, 
for  previously  we  had  been  sorely  put  to 
it  to  keep  any  heart  or  soul  within  our 
starving  bodies. 


122  IN    THE    DAYS    OF    DRAKE. 


CHAPTER  X. 

THE  BLACK  SHADOWS. 

Our  course  that  night  being  of  more  than 
usual  roughness  and  difficuhy,  we  made 
Httle  headway,  and  by  morning  we  had 
done  no  more  than  reach  the  height  of  the 
mountain  range  over  which  we  were  cHmb- 
ing,  and  which  at  that  point  was  some 
three  or  four  thousand  feet  above  sea-level. 
Howbeit,  we  were  not  disappointed  with 
our  night's  work,  for  when  the  sun  rose  we 
found  ourselves  looking  out  upon  the  wide 
plain  which  stretches  from  those  moun- 
tains to  the  sea-coast  of  the  Pacific.  Half 
our  journey  was  over. 

"God  send  that  all  may  be  as  well  with 
us  during  this  next  journey  as  it  has  been 
during  the  last,"  said  Pharaoh.  "We  have 
prospered  exceeding  well  so  far — yea, 
much  better  than  I  expected.    Only  let  us 


IN    THE    DAYS    OF    DRAKE.  123 

do  as  well  on  our  way  over  yonder  plain 
and  we  shall  reach  Acapulco  in  safety." 

"But  what  then?"  I  asked,  not  knowing 
what  his  plans  might  be. 

"That,"  he  answered,  "is  a  difficult  ques- 
tion, master.  We  shall  certainly  meet  with 
no  more  love  at  Acapulco  than  at  Vera 
Cruz,  for  the  Spaniards  have  still  some 
sore  memories  of  the  drubbings  we  have 
given  them.  But  there  we  may  find  an 
EngHsh  ship,  for  'tis  a  convenient  port  for 
those  vessels  that  come  north.  Maybe  we 
shall  have  to  wait  awhile,  and  lie  hidden 
outside  the  city  or  on  the  coast.  All  that 
we  must  leave  till  the  time  comes.  'Tis 
something  that  we  have  come  thus  far 
without  let  or  hindrance." 

And  truly  he  was  right  there  and  we  felt 
thankful  to  God  for  it.  In  truth  we  had  so 
far  been  most  mercifully  protected,  and  our 
adventures  had  abundantly  proved  to  us 
that  God  is  merciful  to  men  who  have  no 
hope  of  any  mercy  or  consideration  from 
their  fellow-creatures. 


124  IN    THE    DAYS    OF    DRAKE. 

We  now  sought  out  a  convenient  rest- 
ing-place, and  having  found  a  quiet  corner 
amongst  the  rocks,  we  sat  down  there  and 
ate  another  hearty  meal  from  the  stores 
given  to  us  by  the  old  Spaniard,  after 
which,  feeling  much  refreshed,  we  lay 
down  to  sleep  in  a  hopeful  state  of  mind. 
The  good  food  and  drink  had  marvelously 
restored  us,  giving  us  new  strength  in  body 
and  soul,  so  that  we  now  hoped  where  we 
had  previously  been  inclined  to  despair. 
And  so,  being  impelled  to  brighter 
thoughts  than  had  filled  our  hearts  for 
some  days,  we  slept  more  composedly, 
and  had  none  of  those  evil  visions  which 
had  disturbed  our  sleep  on  former  occa- 
sions. 

Nevertheless  evil  was  drawing  near  to 
us  while  we  slept. 

It  was  about  half-way  through  the  after- 
noon, when  I  woke  with  a  sudden  feeling 
that  all  was  not  well.  It  was  not  the  feel- 
ing which  I  had  experienced  the  previous 


IN   THE    DAYS    OP    DRAKE.  125 

day,  namely,  that  I  was  being  watched,  but 
a  curious  sensation  of  coming  ill.  How  it 
came  into  my  mind  I  know  not;  all  I 
know  is  that  I  suddenly  awoke  and  came 
into  possession  of  all  my  senses  with  start- 
ling swiftness,  so  that  while  I  had  been 
sound  asleep  one  moment  I  was  wide 
awake  the  next,  and  looking  and  listening 
with  very  eager  and  acute  perception.  Al- 
so, my  heart  was  beating  hard  in  my 
breast,  as  a  man's  heart  will  when  he  sud- 
denly fronts  some  great  danger.  And  then 
I  knew  that  evil  was  at  hand,  and  as  I 
held  up  my  head  and  looked  round  I  saw 
it  draw  near. 

The  place  in  which  we  lay  was  a  corner 
amongst  the  rocks  on  the  side  of  the  moun- 
tain. Before  us  lay  a  wide  expanse  of 
smooth  stone,  the  top  of  a  great  rock  that 
had  its  base  in  the  woods  below.  Behind  us 
rose  a  high  wall  of  rock,  and  beyond  that 
was  the  sun,  now  sinking  towards  the  west- 
ern horizon.   Where  we  lay  everything  was 


126  IN   THE   DAYS    OF    DRAKE. 

in  deep  shadow,  but  the  table-like  piece  of 
rock  in  front  was  bathed  in  brilliant  sun- 
light, and  when  I  woke  and  looked  round 
my  eyes  fell  upon  it,  and  on  a  sight  which 
was  like  to  freeze  my  heart  within  me. 

Some  ridge  of  rock  or  mountain  high 
above  us  was  outlined  on  the  bright  stretch 
of  reflected  sunlight  at  our  feet,  and  on 
this  as  I  looked  appeared  two  shadows — 
the  shadows  of  human  beings,  standing 
motionless  on  the  ridge,  and  evidently 
looking  out  from  that  commanding  posi- 
tion across  the  wide  plain  that  lay  far  be- 
low. 

I  recognized  one  of  the  shadows  instant- 
ly. It  was  the  figure  of  a  man  cloaked  in 
some  long  clinging  garment,  that  en- 
veloped him  from  head  to  foot.  As  he 
turned  his  head  I  saw  the  peculiar  cowl, 
with  its  peaked  top,  which  had  confronted 
me  the  previous  day. 

The  other  shadow  seemed  to  be  that  of 
a   naked   man,    of   slender,    sinewy   limbs. 


IN   THE    DAYS    OF    DRAKE.  127 

who  carried  a  bow,  and  whose  head  was 
ornamented  with  long,  waving  feathers. 
Now  he  stood  motionless  against  the  sky, 
looking  like  a  figure  cut  out  of  stone  or 
bronze;  now  he  shaded  his  eyes  with  his 
hand,  evidently  gazing  across  the  plain  be- 
low; now  he  stooped  and  seemed  to  ex- 
amine the  ground  at  his  feet.  But  the 
shadow  of  the  cowled  and  cloaked  figure 
stood  statue-like  and  never  moved. 

Now,  if  you  can  so  exercise  your  imagi- 
nation as  to  put  yourself  in  my  place,  you 
will  not  be  slow  to  recognize  the  terror 
which  came  over  me  at  this  unexpected 
sight.  If  I  had  seen  a  dozen  armed  men 
spring  out  upon  us  from  the  rocks  I  should 
have  cared  not.  But  to  see  these  sinister- 
looking  shadows,  motionless  or  restless,  on 
the  bright  patch  of  sunlight,  was  an  awful 
thing — yea,  to  this  day  I  do  often  see  it  in 
my  dreams,  and  wake  sweating  with  fear 
and  horror. 

I    leaned    over    and    touched    Pharaoh 


128  IN    THE   DAYS    OF    DRAKE. 

lig^htly.  He  woke  on  the  instant  and  sat 
up. 

"Hush!''  I  whispered,  pointing  to  the 
shadows.   "Look  there!" 

He  hfted  his  hand  to  his  brow  and  gazed 
at  the  shadows  with  a  wonder-struck  air. 
Then  he  seemed  to  recognize  their  import, 
and  turned  to  me  with  a  shake  of  the  head. 

"Lad,''  said  he,  "we  are  about  to  have 
trouble.  'Tis  that  accursed  FamiHar.  He 
hath  tracked  us.  Said  I  not  that  these 
devils  in  man's  shape  are  like  sleuth- 
hounds?" 

"But  the  other,  Pharaoh?  What  is  the 
other?" 

"An  Indian,  lad.  See  there,  he  is  stoop- 
ing to  examine  the  ground.  They  are  like 
dogs — they  will  find  a  trace  where  we 
should  see  naught." 

"What  shall  we  do?" 

"God  help  us! — I  know  not.  Once  on 
our  track  they  will  hunt  us  down.  See 
there!" 


IN  THE   DAYS   OP   DRAKE.  129 

To  the  two  shadows  was  suddenly  added 
a  third,  a  fourth,  a  fifth,  then  a  sixth  and 
seventh,  and  presently  others  until  we 
counted  twelve. 

"All  Indians  except  the  monk,"  said 
Pharaoh.  "He  is  the  huntsman  and  they 
are  his  dogs.  See,  they  are  separating 
again.  Lad,  get  thy  cudgel  in  readiness. 
'Tis  the  best  weapon  we  have." 

We  started  to  our  feet  and  gripped  our 
staves  firmly.  And  at  the  prospect  of  a 
fight  my  terror  died  away.  There  was  no 
ghostly  fear  about  things  of  flesh  and 
blood.  You  can  strike  a  man,  but  who  can 
strike  a  shadow? 

At  that  moment,  over  a  rock  to  our  left, 
appeared  the  face  of  an  Indian,  scarred 
and  painted,  a  very  devil's  face  to  look  at. 
We  were  seen  at  last! 


180  IN   THE   DAYS    OF    DRAKE. 


CHAPTER    XL 
CAPTIVE. 

As  soon  as  the  Indian's  face  appeared 
above  the  rock  Pharaoh  and  I  instinctively 
moved  towards  him,  whereupon  he  disap- 
peared again  with  a  sudden  sharp  cry, 
which  was  immediately  answered  from 
above. 

"Now,  we  shall  have  the  whole  pack 
upon  us,"  said  my  companion. 

In  this  prediction  he  was  right,  for  with- 
in a  moment  the  whole  body  of  twelve  In- 
dians had  surrounded  us,  and  stood  gaz- 
ing at  us  with  faces  in  %vhich  I  looked  in 
vain  for  any  sign  of  compassion  at  our  for- 
lorn state.  Behind  them  came  the  monk, 
still  clad  in  his  shroud-like  cowl,  and  mov- 
ing with  silent  steps  as  if  he  were  a  ghost 
rather  than  a  living  man.  But  as  he  drew 
near  to  where  we  stood  he  threw  back  the 


IN   THE    DAYS    OF    DRAKE.  131 

hood  from  his  head,  and  then  we  saw  his 
face  for  the  first  time. 

I  will  describe  this  man  to  you,  because 
he  was  not  only  the  most  remarkable  but 
also  the  most  relentlessly  cruel  man  that  I 
have  ever  come  across  in  my  life.  As  for 
his  name,  which  we  learnt  ere  long,  it  was 
Bartolomeo  de  los  Rios,  and  his  one  aim 
and  passion  was  the  hunting,  torturing, 
and  burning  of  heretics.  He  had  the  facul- 
ties of  a  sleuth-hound  and  the  instincts  of 
a  serpent,  and  when  he  had  once  set  his 
heart  on  hunting  a  man  to  his  death,  it 
was  only  by  God's  mercy  that  that  man 
escaped. 

Nevertheless  this  m^an  as  he  stood  before 
us,  looking  steadily  upon  us  from  under 
his  cowl,  did  not  seem  so  fearful  a  mon- 
ster of  cruelty  as  we  afterwards  knew  him 
to  be.  We  saw  simply  a  thin,  dark-faced 
monk,  whose  face  was  pale  as  parchment, 
and  whose  eyes  were  extraordinarily  bright 
and  keen.     The  lines  and  furrows  on  his 


182  IN   THE    DAYS    OF    DRAKE. 

brow  and  cheeks  seemed  to  tell  of  pain  or 
thought,  and  his  tightly-pursed,  thin  lips 
betokened  firmness  and  resolution.  I  think 
he  could  have  stood  calmly  by  while  his 
own  father  was  being  tortured  and  have 
changed  no  muscle  of  his  face.  Thus  he 
was  an  object  of  much  greater  fear  than 
the  Indians,  who  were  certainly  horrible 
enough  to  frighten  anybody  that  had  never 
seen  them  before. 

We  stood  gazing  at  the  monk  and  his 
Indians  for  a  moment  ere  either  of  us 
spoke.  The  Indians  seemed  to  wait  in- 
structions from  the  monk,  and  looked  to- 
ward him  with  eager  eyes.  As  for  Pha- 
raoh and  myself,  we  waited  to  see  what 
would  happen.  I  think  we  both  realized 
that  fortune  had  suddenly  deserted  us,  but 
nevertheless  we  kept  a  firm  grip  on  our 
cudgels,  and  were  both  resolved  to  use 
them  if  necessary. 

The  monk  spoke.  His  voice  was  low, 
sweet  and  gentle — there  was  naught  of 
cruelty  in  it. 


IN   THE    DAYS    OF    DRAKE.  133 

"Greeting,  my  children,"  said  he,  ad- 
dressing us.  "Be  not  afraid.  There  shall 
no  harm  come  to  you." 

"It  will  be  ill  for  the  man  who  threatens 
us  v/ith  any,"  answered  Pharaoh  in  Span- 
ish. "We  are  travelers,  and  have  no  mind 
to  be  disturbed." 

"You  travel  by  strange  paths,"  said  the 
monk.  "To  what  part  of  the  country  are 
you  going?" 

"To  Acapulco,"  answered  Pharaoh,  add- 
ing to  me,  in  English,  "there  is  no  harm 
in  telling  him  that." 

"There  is  a  good  road  from  Oaxaca  to 
Acapulco,"  said  the  monk.  "Why  not  fol- 
low it?" 

"We  are  minded  to  take  our  own  way," 
said  Pharaoh  doggedly. 

"You  Englishmen  are  fond  of  that,"  ob- 
served the  monk  with  a  strange  smile. 

"Who  says  we  are  English?"  asked  Pha- 
raoh. 

"Your  Spanish  is  proof  of  that." 


134  IN    THE    DAYS   OF    DRAKE. 

"I  am  from  Catalonia,"  said  Pharaoh. 
"We  do  not  speak  pure  Castilian  there." 

"And  your  companion?  Is  he,  too,  from 
Catalonia,  or  is  he  dumb?" 

To  that  Pharaoh  answered  nothing.  The 
monk  turned  his  bright  eyes  on  me. 

"What  is  your  business  here?"  he  said, 
in  very  good  English.  "If  you  cannot 
speak  to  me  in  my  tongue,  I  must  talk 
with  you  in  yours." 

"Answer  him,"  said  Pharaoh.  "There 
is  no  use  in  further  concealment." 

"I  see  no  reason  why  I  should  answer 
you,  master,"  said  I,  feeling  somewhat  net- 
tled at  the  man's  peremptory  tone.  "What 
right  have  you  to  stop  us  in  this  fashion?" 

He  smiled  again,  if  that  could  be  called 
a  smile  which  was  simply  a  sudden  flash  of 
the  eyes  and  a  tightening  of  the  thin  lips, 
and  looked  round  at  his  Indians. 

"The  right  of  force,"  said  he  quietly. 
"You  are  two — we  are  many.'' 

"Two  Englishmen  are  worth  twenty 
Spanish  devils,"  said  I  sulkily. 


IN    THE    DAYS    OF    DRAKE.  135 

"If  it  is  to  come  to  fighting,"  said  Pha- 
raoh, gripping  his  cudgel. 

The  monk  said  a  word  in  a  low  tone. 
The  Indians  on  the  instant  raised  their 
bows  and  drew  their  arrows  to  the  full  ex- 
tent of  the  string.  The  tips  pointed  dead 
upon  us. 

"Englishmen,"  said  the  monk,  "look  at 
those  arrows.  Every  one  of  them  is  tipped 
with  poison.  If  you  move  I  give  the  word, 
and  those  arrows  will  find  a  resting  place 
in  you.  Let  them  but  touch  your  arms, 
your  shoulders,  inflicting  but  a  scratch,  in 
a  few  seconds  you  will  be  as  one  that  is 
paralyzed,  in  a  few  minutes  you  will  lie 
dead." 

The  man's  words  were  gentle  enough, 
but  somehow  his  low,  sweet  voice  made 
my  blood  run  cold.  Why  did  cruelty  veil 
itself  in  such  a  honeyed  tone? 

"What  is  it  you  want  of  us,  master?" 
asked  Pharaoh  presently. 

"Your  names  and  business." 


136  IN   THE    DAYS    OF    DRAKE. 

"That  is  easily  answered.  This  gentle- 
man is  one  Master  Humphrey  Salkeld,  of 
Yorkshire  in  England,  who  hath  many 
powerful  friends  at  court;  as  for  me,  I  am 
a  siailor,  and  my  name  is  Pharaoh  Nanju- 
lian,  of  Marazion  in  Cornwall.  As  for  our 
business,  we  are  shipwrecked  mariners,  or 
as  good,  and  our  hope  is  to  find  an  English 
vessel  at  Acapulco  and  so  return  home.  If 
you  be  a  Christian  you  will  help  us." 

"Christians  help  only  Christians.  I  fear 
ye  are  Lutherans,  enemies  of  God." 

"That  we  are  not,"  answered  Pharaoh 
stoutly.  "I  will  say  my  Paternoster  in  Eng- 
lish with  anybody,  and  my  Belief  too,  for 
that  matter." 

The  monk  sighed.  Perhaps  he  was  dis- 
appointed to  find  that  Pharaoh  had  so 
much  knowledge. 

"And  you?"  he  said,  turning  to  me. 

"I  am  a  Christian,"  I  answered,  surlily 
enough,  for  I  did  not  like  this  examina- 
tion. 


IN    THE    DAYS    OF    DRAKE.  137 

"We  are  both  Christians,  master;'  said 
Pharaoh.  "Maybe  we  think  not  as  you  do 
on  some  points,  but  'tis  naught.  So  help 
us  of  your  charity,  and  assist  us  to  get  out 
of  this  country  to  our  own,  and  we  will 
say  a  Paternoster  for  you  night  and  morn- 
ing." 

"Verily,"  answered  the  monk,  "you  speak 
fairly.  I  will  help  you.  You  shall  go  with 
me  to  Mexico,  and  there  we  will  see  what 
ships  there  are  at  Vera  Cruz." 

"We  would  rather  push  forward  to  Aca- 
pulco,''  answered  Pharaoh.  "There  are 
more  likely  to  be  English  ships  there." 

"English  ships  have  gone  there  little  dur- 
ing recent  years,  and  you  will  find  none 
now,"  said  the  monk. 

"For  all  that  we  would  rather  take  our 
chance  there,"  said  Pharaoh. 

"It  will  be  better  for  you  to  accompany 
me  to  Mexico.  Vera  Cruz  is  close  at  hand 
And  now,  as  the  day  waxes  late,  we  will 
proceed," 


138  IN    THE   DAYS    OF    DRAKE. 

Now,  there  was  no  use  in  further  argu- 
ment, for  the  monk  had  every  advantage 
of  us,  and  was  clearly  minded  to  have  us 
accompany  him  at  whatever  cost.  There- 
fore we  had  to  yield  ourselves  to  his  will 
but  never  did  men  give  in  with  worse  grace 
or  heavier  hearts  than  we. 

"God  help  us!"  said  Pharaoh.  "We  are 
going  into  the  very  jaws  of  death  in  going 
to  Mexico.  We  shall  meet  Nunez  there, 
and  even  if  we  do  not,  we  shall  be  handed 
over  to  the  Inquisitors.  But  God's  will  be 
done.  Moreover,  while  there  is  life  there 
is  hope.    We  may  pull  through  yet." 

So  we  set  out,  the  monk  going  first  and 
taking  no  further  notice  of  us  for  some 
time.  He  would  walk  for  hours  as  if  ab- 
sorbed in  his  own  thoughts,  and  again  for 
a  long  stretch  of  time  he  would  read  his 
book  or  count  his  beads,  but  to  us  he  said 
little.  He  walked  in  the  midst  of  the  In- 
dians, who  for  their  part  were  kind  and 
considerate  to  us,  and  indulged  in  no  cruel- 


IN   THE    DAYS    OF    DRAKE.  139 

ties.  Indeed,  during  our  journey  to  the 
City  of  Mexico  we  had  no  reason  to  com- 
plain of  discomfort  or  poor  fare,  for  we 
had  all  that  men  can  require,  and  were  well 
treated,  save  that  lat  night  they  guarded 
us  more  closely  than  we  liked.  But  as  to 
food  and  drink,  we  were  abundantly 
served,  and  so  began  to  wax  fat,  in  spite  of 
our  anxiety. 

There  was  no  restriction  placed  upon 
our  tongues  at  this  time,  and  therefore 
Pharaoh  and  I  talked  freely  whenever  we 
were  out  of  hearing  of  the  monk.  As  for 
our  conversation,  it  was  all  of  one  thing — 
the  prospect  that  awaited  us  in  Mexico. 

"What  will  come  of  this  venture,  Pha- 
raoh?" I  asked  him  one  day  as  we  drew 
near  our  destination.  "Shall  we  come  off 
with  whole  skins,  or  what?" 

"It  will  be  well  if  we  come  off  with  our 
lives,  master.  I  have  been  thinking  things 
over  to-day,  and  I  make  no  doubt  that  this 
monk  will  hand  us  over  to  the  Inquisition. 


140  IN    THE    DAYS    OF    DRAKE. 

Put  no  trust  in  what  he  says  about  find- 
ing us  a  ship  at  Vera  Cruz.  The  only  ship 
he  will  find  us  will  be  a  dungeon  in  some 
of  their  prisons.  Well,  now,  what  are  our 
chances  when  we  fall  into  the  hands  of 
these  fellows?" 

"Nay,  very  small  I  should  say.  I  am 
well-nigh  resigned  to  anything.  Neverthe- 
less, Pharaoh,  I  shall  make  a  fight  for  it." 

"It  may  not  come  to  fighting.  Can  you 
say  the  Paternoster,  the  Ave  ]Maria,  and 
the  Creed?" 

"I  can  say  two  of  them,  and  I  can  learn 
the  third.  But  what  diflference  does  that 
make?" 

"All  the  diflference  'twixt  burning  at  the 
stake  and  wearing  a  San-benito  in  a  mon- 
astery for  a  year  or  two.  Now,  if  we  are 
burnt  there  is  an  end  of  us,  but  if  they  put 
us  into  a  monaster}^  with  a  San-benito  on 
our  backs  we  shall  still  have  a  chance  of 
life,  and  shall  be  poor  Englishmen  if  we 
do  not  take  it." 


IN    THE    DAYS    OP    DRAKE.  141 

Thus  we  talked,  striving  to  comfort  our- 
selves, until  at  the  end  of  the  fourth  day 
we  were  brought  by  our  captors  to  the  City 
of  Mexico. 


142  IN    THE    DAYS    OP    DRAKE. 


CHAPTER    XII. 

MORE  CRUEL  THAN  WILD  BEASTS. 

There  are  times  when,  looking  round 
these  fair  lands  of  Beechcot,  and  thinking 
on  the  quiet  and  prosperous  life  which  I 
have  spent  in  their  midst  these  many  years, 
I  fall  to  wondering  whether  those  dark 
days  in  Mexico  were  real  or  only  a  dream. 
It  seems  to  me,  sometimes,  that  all  which 
then  happened  to  me  and  to  my  companion, 
Pharaoh  Nanjulian,  must  have  been  but  a 
dream  and  naught  else,  so  horrible  were 
the  cruelties  and  indignities  practiced  upon 
us.  You  could  hardly  bring  yourselves  to 
believe,  you  who  have  lived  quiet,  stay-at- 
home  lives,  how  merciless  were  the  men 
into  whose  hands  we  fell,  and  if  I  did  but 
tell  you  one-tenth  of  the  malignity  which 
they  displayed  towards  us,  you  would  not 
wonder  that  I   sometimes  feel  inclined  to 


IN   THE    DAYS    OF    DRAKE.  143 

wonder  if  my  memories  of  that  most  un- 
happy time  are  not  dreams  rather  than 
reahties.  But  I  know  well  that  there  is 
nothing  unreal  about  them,  for  I  bear  on 
my  body  certain  marks  which  came  there 
from  the  rack  and  the  pincers,  and  there 
are  moments  when  I  seem  to  endure  my 
agony  over  again,  and  the  sweat  drops 
from  my  brow  as  I  think  of  it. 

We  were  led  into  the  City  of  Mexico 
through  the  gate  of  St.  Catherine,  and  were 
thence  marched  forward  to  the  Placa  del 
Marquese,  close  by  the  market-place. 
There  we  were  soon  surrounded  by  a 
throng  of  folks,  who  seemed  not  unkindly 
disposed  towards  us.  Some,  indeed, 
brought  us  food  from  their  houses,  and 
others  drink;  one  man  handed  Pharaoh 
Nanjulian  a  coat,  a  noble-looking  lady, 
closely  wrapped  in  her  mantilla,  gave  me 
money,  hurrying  away  ere  I  could  refuse 
the  gift.  I  suppose  we  looked  so  woe-be- 
gone  and  vagabondish  in  our  rags  and  tat- 


144  IN   THE    DAYS    OF    DRAKE. 

ters,  that  the  hearts  of  these  people  melted 
towards  us.  Nevertheless  it  was  plain  to 
see  that  we  were  prisoners,  and  that  the 
monk  had  no  notion  of  putting  us  in  the 
way  of  getting  a  ship. 

Now,  as  we  stood  there  in  the  Placa, 
closely  guarded  by  the  Indians,  the  monk 
having  disappeared  for  the  moment,  who 
should  come  up  to  us  but  that  polite  gen- 
tleman, Captain  Manuel  Nunez,  arrayed  in 
very  brave  fashion  and  smiling  his  cruel 
smile  as  usual.  He  pushed  his  way  through 
the  throng,  folded  his  arms,  and  stood  smil- 
ing upon  us. 

"So,  Master  Salkeld,"  he  said,  "you  have 
fallen  into  the  tiger's  den  after  all.  Cer- 
tainly what  was  born  to  be  burned  will  never 
be  drowned.  I  looked  to  see  you  again, 
Senor." 

"We  shall  possibly  meet  yet  once  again,"' 
said  I.  "And  it  may  be  where  you  and  I 
are  on  level  terms.  Captain  Nunez.  If  that 
time  should  ever  come,  ask  God  to  have 


IN   THE    DAYS    OF    DRAKE.  145 

mercy  upon  you,  (or  rest  assured  that  I 
shall  have  none." 

"Brave  words,  Senor,  brave  words!  I 
wish  it  were  possible  that  you  might  have 
the  chance  to  make  them  good.  But  that 
I  am  afraid  you  never  will  have.  You  are 
safely  caged." 

Then  he  began  to  abuse  us  to  the  peo- 
ple, bidding  them  look  upon  us  for  Eng- 
lish dogs,  Lutherans,  enemies  of  God, 
sweepings  of  the  English  sink  of  iniquity, 
for  whom  neither  rack,  thumb-screw,  nor 
stake  was  sufficient  reward.  Me  he  de- 
nounced to  the  people  as  a  runaway  crim- 
inal, describing  me  in  such  terms  as  made 
my  blood  boil  within  me,  and  my  hands 
itch  to  take  him  by  the  neck  and  crush  the 
life  out  of  his  wicked  heart. 

"You  are  a  liar  and  a  knave,"  said  I  and 
then  for  the  moment  forgetting  my  dignity 
as  an  EngHsh  gentleman  I  spat  full  in  his 
face.     Bethink  you — my  hands   were  tied 

10 


146  IN    THE    DAYS    OF    DRAKE. 

behind  me,  and  not  free  to  use.  Otherwise 
I  had  not  done  it. 

Now  at  this  insult  his  face  turned  deathly 
white  and  then  flushed  a  bright  red,  and 
there  came  into  his  eyes  a  gleam  which 
meant  murder,  and  plucking  forth  his 
rapier  he  would  certainly  have  slain  me 
there  and  then,  had  not  the  monk  returned 
at  that  instant  and  prevented  his  fury  from 
wreaking  itself  upon  me.  At  this  interfer- 
ence he  grew  still  more  furious,  and  well- 
nigh  foamed  at  the  mouth,  swearing  by  all 
the  saints  in  his  calendar  that  he  would 
slay  me  where  I  stood.  But  at  a  word  from 
the  monk  he  smiled  a  grim,  meaning  smile, 
and  thrusting  back  his  rapier  into  its  sheath 
turned  away  from  us  with  a  face  full  of  hate 
and  malignity. 

We  were  now  taken  away  to  a  hospital, 
where  we  found  other  Englishmen — some 
sailors  that  had  been  captured  by  the 
Spaniards  at  sea,  and  others  merchants 
who    had    been    taken    while     prosecuting 


IN   THE    DAYS    OF    DRAKE.  147 

their  trade  in  various  ports  in  that  part  of 
the  world.  Some  of  these  men  had  been 
in  capitivity  for  many  months,  and  they 
explained  to  us  that  they  were  being  kept 
for  a  new  sitting  of  the  Inquisition,  at 
which,  they  said,  we  should  all  be  examined 
and  possibly  tortured,  with  a  view  to  ex- 
tracting from  us  confessions  that  would 
doom  us  to  the  fire.  So  under  this  pros- 
pect we  sat  down  to  wait,  and  for  several 
weeks  remained  in  strict  captivity,  having 
enough  to  eat,  but  being  terribly  cast  down 
by  the  knowledge  of  what  awaited  us. 

It  appeared  from  such  information  as 
we  could  obtain  that  the  Inquisitors  were 
at  that  time  absent  from  the  city,  conduct- 
ing examinations  in  another  part  of  the 
country,  and  that  when  they  returned  our 
cases  would  be  gone  into.  There  had  been 
no  Auto-de-fe,  or  public  burning  of  here- 
tics for  a  year  or  two,  and  it  seemed  only 
too  probable  from  what  we  now  heard  that 
one  was  meditated  for  the  coming  Good 


14S  IN   THE    DAYS    OF    DRAKE. 

Friday.  Positive  information  on  this  point, 
however,  we  could  not  then  get;  therefore 
we  remained  in  our  captivity,  alternately 
hopeful  and  despondent,  praying  God  eith- 
er to  release  us  from  our  desperate  situa- 
tion or  to  give  us  strength  to  endure  what- 
ever might  be  in  store  for  us. 

About  the  beginning  of  Lent,  in  the 
year  1579,  the  Inquisitors  returned  to  the 
City  of  Mexico,  and  it  immediately  began 
to  be  whispered  amongst  us  that  the  ex- 
aminations were  shortly  to  begin.  We  soon 
found  that  this  was  the  truth,  and  the  first 
intimation  of  it  came  to  us  in  highly  un- 
pleasant form.  On  Ash  Wednesday  we 
were  removed  from  the  hospital  in  which 
we  had  been  confined  until  then,  and  were 
taken  through  the  city  to  certain  cells  or 
dungeons,  in  which  we  were  separately 
placed,  so  that  from  that  time  forward 
we  saw  nothing  of  each  other,  and  thus 
had  no  companion  to  turn  to  for  sympathy 
when   our  need  was  sorest.     But  as   God 


IN    THE    DAYS    OF    DRAKE,  149 

would  have  it,  it  befell  to  Pharaoh  Nanju- 
lian  and  to  me,  that  as  we  were  being  led 
across  the  market-square  by  our  guards, 
there  came  up  to  us  the  old  gentleman 
whom  we  had  saved  from  highwaymen  on 
the  road  to  Oaxaca.  He  seemed  vastly 
surprised  to  find  us  in  that  unhappy  con- 
dition, and  insisted  with  some  slight  show 
of  authority  on  our  guards  allowing  him 
to  speak  with  us. 

"Surely,''  said  he,  "ye  are  the  two  brave 
men  who  preserved  me  and  my  daughter 
from  those  cut-throat  villains  as  we  traveled 
to  Oaxaca.  How  came  ye  in  this  com- 
pany?" 

"Sir,"  said  Pharaoh,  "that  is  what  we  do 
not  know  ourselves.  We  are  two  inofifen- 
sive  Englishmen,  brought  into  this  coun- 
try against  our  wills,  and  wishing  or  in- 
tending no  harm  to  any  man,  but  only 
anxious  to  find  a  ship  that  will  carry  us 
back  to  our  own  land.  Here  we  are  treated 
like  malefactors  and  criminals,  and  yet  we 


150  IN    THE   DAYS    OF    DRAKE. 

have  broken  no  law  that  we  know  of,  nor 
are  we  brought  before  any  judge  to  hear 
what  our  jailer  hath  against  us.  If  you  in- 
deed are  grateful  for  what  we  did  for  you 
help  us  to  our  liberty.'' 

"I  am  grateful,  friend,"  answered  the  old 
man,  "and  will  do  what  I  can  for  you.  But 
tell  me  your  story." 

So  we  told  him  all  that  had  happened  to 
us  from  the  time  of  our  leaving  England, 
and  mentioning  more  particularly  the 
treacheries  practiced  upon  us  by  Captain 
Nunez  and  Frey  Bartolomeo,  at  the  men- 
tion of  whose  names  he  shook  his  head. 

"I  am  sorry  indeed  for  you,"  said  he 
when  we  made  an  end,  "and  the  more  so 
because  ye  are  in  a  very  grievous  plight. 
But  now,  keep  up  your  hearts,  for  I  have 
some  influence  with  the  Chief  Inquisitor, 
and  it  shall  be  exerted  on  your  behalf.  'Tis 
truly  a  pity  that  ye  are  Englishmen,  but  I 
hope  ye  are  Christians." 

"Christians  we  are,"  said  Pharaoh,  "and 


IN    THE    DAYS    OF    DRAKE.  151 

will  say  our  Paternoster  and  Credo  with 
any  man." 

"  'Tis  well,  and  therefore  keep  up  your 
hearts,  I  say.  I  will  see  to  this  matter  at 
once." 

This  meeting  and  the  cheerful  words 
spoken  to  us  by  the  old  man  did  somewhat 
revive  our  hopes,  more  especially  when  we 
heard  from  our  guards  that  he  was  a  per- 
son of  some  distinction  in  that  city.  So  we 
parted,  Pharaoh  and  I,  and  were  prisoned 
in  solitary  dungeons. 

For  the  next  three  or  four  weeks  I  saw 
no  man  save  my  jailers,  who  fed  me  chiefly 
on  bread  and  water,  or  on  maize,  crushed 
and  boiled,  which  food  did  speedily  bring 
me  to  a  low  and  miserable  condition.  In- 
deed, what  the  noisomeness  of  my  cell  and 
the  loneliness  of  my  state  failed  to  do  the 
bad  food  speedily  accomplished,  so  that 
within  a  month  of  my  imprisonment  I  be- 
came a  weak  and  nerveless  creature,  and 
was  ready  to  weep  at  a  rough  word. 


152  IN    THE    DAYS    OF    DRAKE. 

About  three  weeks  before  Easter  I  was 
taken  before  the  Inquisitors  and  put  to  the 
question.  Now,  I  had  expected  and 
dreaded  this  ordeal,  and  was  not  in  over 
good  a  state  to  face  it  when  at  last  it  came 
upon  me.  Nevertheless  I  made  shift  to 
summon  my  courage  so  that  I  might  show 
a  bold  front  to  my  oppressors. 

The  Inquisitors  sat  in  a  small  apartment 
hung  round  with  black  and  lighted  by 
torches,  and  there  was  that  in  their  appear- 
ance which  was  calculated  to  strike  terror 
into  the  stoutest  heart.  Behind  a  table, 
set  upon  a  dais,  sat  the  Chief  Inquisitor, 
with  his  assistant  on  one  side  of  him  and 
his  secretary  on  the  other.  They  were  all 
robed  in  black,  and  their  thin,  ascetic  faces 
looking  out  from  the  dark  recesses  of  their 
cowls,  had  in  them  neither  mercy  nor  pity, 
nor  indeed  aught  but  merciless  resolution. 
There  were  other  robed  and  cowled  figures 
in  the  room,  but  I  noticed  none  of  them 
particularly    save    the    monk    Bartolomeo, 


IN    THE    DAYS    OF    DRAKE.  153 

who  stood  there  ready  to  make  accusation 
against  me. 

There  was  an  interpreter  in  the  apart- 
ment, a  half-breed  named  Robert  Sweet- 
ing, whose  name  I  desire  to  put  on  record, 
because  he  did  me  a  kindness  at  the  risk 
of  his  own  hfe.  To  this  man  the  Inquisi- 
tors addressed  their  questions,  and  through 
him  I  answered  them  to  the  best  of  my 
abihty. 

They  set  out  by  asking  me  the  full  par- 
ticulars of  my  presence  in  Mexico,  which 
questions  I  replied  to  with  very  great  de- 
light, as  they  afforded  me  an  opportunity 
of  having  my  say  as  to  Captain  Manuel 
Nunez  and  his  fellow-villian  Frey  Bartolo- 
meo,  whom  I  did  not  spare,  though  he 
stood  by  and  heard  me  with  an  unmoved 
countenance.  Indeed,  I  spake  so  plainly 
concerning  him  that  the  Chief  Inquisitor 
stopped  me 

"It  is  not  seemly,"  said  he,  "to  speak  in 
disrespectful  terms  of  men  vowed  to  sacred 
offices." 


154  IN   THE   DAYS    OF    DRAKE. 

To  this  I  answered  that  I  had  been 
brought  up  from  my  birth  to  treat  my  pas- 
tors and  teachers  with  respect  and  rever- 
ence, but  that  I  could  feel  none  for  a  man 
who  had  abused  his  sacred  office  by  de- 
ceiving unfortunate  men. 

Then  they  began  to  examine  me  as  to 
my  faith,  and  commanded  me  to  say  the 
Paternoster,  Ave  Maria,  and  the  Creed  in 
Latin,  which,  rubbing  up  such  Latin  as  I 
remembered  from  Mr.  Timotheus  Her- 
rick's  instructions,  I  made  difficult  shift  to 
do,  informing  them  at  the  same  time  that 
I  could  say  all  these  things  much  more 
readily  in  English.  And  this  part  of  my 
examination  being  over,  and  my  judges 
seeming  satisfied,  I  began  to  breathe  more 
freely,  hoping  that  all  might  end  well. 

But  now  they  began  to  examine  mc  on 
more  particular  and  nicer  points,  and  it 
was  plain  to  me  that  if  I  did  but  make  a 
slip  they  would  visit  it  upon  my  body.  For 
they  demanded  first,  whether  I  believed  or 


IN    THE    DAYS    OF    DRAKE.  155 

not  that  any  bread  or  wine  remained  in 
the  paten  or  in  the  chaHce  after  the  con- 
secration, and  second,  whether  or  not  the 
bread  and  the  wane  were  not  actually  the 
very  body  and  blood  of  our  Lord.  To  have 
answered  "No"  to  these  questions  would 
have  insured  my  death,  therefore  I  cudg- 
eled my  brains  for  a  fitting  reply  to  them, 
well  knowing  what  depended  upon  it.  And 
bethinking  me  of  the  articles  and  teachings 
of  my  own  church,  I  made  answer  that  I 
was  no  scholar  or  theologian,  but  a  simple 
country  gentleman  that  had  left  subtle 
points  to  priests  and  schoolmen,  and  had 
always  held  what  they  taught  me,  namely, 
that  our  blessed  Lord  is  indeed  verily  and 
truly  present  in  the  sacrament  of  His  body 
and  blood.  This  answer  seemed  to  satisfy 
them,  but  presently  they  asked  me  if  I  did 
not  follow  the  teachings  of  Doctor  Martin 
Luther,  I  cheerfully  replied  to  that,  that  I 
knew  naught  about  Doctor  Luther,  and 
had  never  heard  his  name  mentioned  un- 


156  IN   THE    DAYS    OF    DRAKE. 

til  I  came  into  Mexico;  which  was  plain 
truth,  for  we  were  out  of  the  world  at 
Beechcot,  and  knew  naught  of  contro- 
versies; Then  they  would  have  me  to  tell 
them  what  I  had  been  taught  to  believe  in 
England,  to  which  I  answered  that  I  had 
never  been  taught  any  other  doctrine  than 
that  to  which  I  had  alread}^  testified,  and 
in  which  I  did  firmly  and  truly  believe  as 
a  good  Christian  man,  hoping  for  salvation 
in  the  Christian  faith. 

"We  must  have  a  more  satisfactory  an- 
swer than  that,"  said  the  Chief  Inquisitor, 
"otherwise  we  must  try  what  a  sterner 
method  will  do  with  you." 

*'Sir,''  said  I,  "other  answer  I  cannot  give 
you,  for  I  have  already  told  you  the  truth. 
As  for  my  sins  against  God  I  heartily  ask 
His  forgiveness,  and  also  yours  if  I  have 
offended  your  laws  in  any  way;  but  I  be- 
seech you  to  remember  that  I  came  into 
your  country  against  my  own  will,  and 
have  never  done  aught  against  its  laws  or 


IN   THE    DAYS    OF    DRAKE.  157 

against  yon  wittingly.  Therefore,  I  be- 
seech you  to  have  Christian  mercy  upon 
my  defenseless  condition." 

But  they  had  none,  and  that  night  I  was 
put  upon  the  rack,  and  cruelly  tortured  by 
Frey  Bartolomeo  and  his  fellows,  in  the 
hope  that  I  should  confess  something 
against  myself.  However,  God  giving  me 
strength,  I  said  naught,  and  was  preserved 
through  that  awful  torment,  the  memory  of 
which  is  strong  in  my  mind  even  after  all 
these  years. 


168  IN    THE    DAYS   OF    DRAKE. 


CHAPTER   XIII. 

THE  AUTO-DA-FE. 

About  the  beginning  of  Holy  Week  the 
Inquisitors  caused  to  be  erected  a  great 
scaffold  against  the  large  church  in  the 
main  square,  and  from  it  they  proclaimed, 
with  much  beating  of  drums  and  blaring  of 
trumpets,  that  whoever  should  come  there 
upon  Good  Friday  should  have  made 
known  to  them  the  most  just  judgments  of 
the  Holy  Inquisition  upon  the  English 
heretics,  Lutherans,  and  should,  moreover, 
see  the  same  put  into  immediate  execution. 
And  so  now  we  were  face  to  face  with  what- 
ever final  cruelty  these  devils  in  human 
shape  might  devise  upon  us,  who  were  help- 
less and  defenseless  in  their  hands. 

There  was  little  rest  for  any  of  us  on  the 
night  preceding  the  judgments,  for  there 
came  to  each  of  us  officers  and  Familiars  of 


IN   THE    DAYS    OF    DRAKE.  159 

the  Inquisition,  tormenting  us  with  gibes 
and  sneers,  and  bringing  us  the  San-benitos 
in  which  we  were  to  appear  in  the  great 
square  next  morning.  It  was  already 
turning  gray  in  the  east  when  two  of  these 
men  entered  my  dungeon,  where  I  lay  still 
stiff  and  bruised  because  of  the  racking 
which  I  had  undergone  a  few  days  before. 
They  woke  me  rudely  and  without  con- 
sideration, caring  naught  for  the  woes  I  had 
already  suffered  or  the  sorrow  I  was  that 
day  to  undergo. 

"Wake,  English  dog,  Lutheran,  enemy 
of  God!"  cried  one.  "Wake  and  robe 
thyself  to  meet  thy  master  the  devil.  Truly 
the  saints  will  rejoice  to  see  the  sight  pro- 
vided for  them  this  day." 

Then  they  hustled  me  from  my  straw 
pallet  and  bade  me  dress  in  the  San-benito, 
which  was  a  garment  of  yellow  cotton  hav- 
ing divers  devices  painted  upon  it.  And 
this  done  they  took  me  out  into  the  court- 
yard of  the  prison,  and  there  for  the  first 


160  IN   THE    DAYS    OF    DRAKE. 

time  for  some  weeks  I  met  Pharaoh  Nan- 
julian.  It  was  easy  to  see,  even  in  the  un- 
certain light  of  the  early  morning,  that  he 
had  undergone  the  same  torments  which 
they  had  applied  to  me.  His  face  was 
pinched  and  thin  with  sufifering,  and  his 
great  frame  seemed  to  have  been  crushed 
and  bruised  until  it  had  shrunk  in  heig'ht 
and  girth.  Yet  he  bore  himself  with  com- 
posure and  bravery,  and  I  felt  at  once  that, 
however  the  rest  of  us  behaved,  he  at  least 
would  not  disgrace  the  name  of  England. 

"Heart  up,  master!"  quoth  he,  as  soon  as 
we  came  within  speaking  distance  of  each 
other.  "Heart  up!  Let  us  show  our- 
selves brave  men  this  day.  I  do  not  think 
they  can  torment  us  more  than  they  have 
already  done.  And  what  if  they  kill  us? 
We  must  all  die." 

"Did  they  torture  you  badly,  Pharaoh?" 
I  asked,  admiring  his  fortitude. 

He  shook  his  head  and  smiled  grimly. 

"So  badly,  master,  that  it  seemed  as  if 


IN    THE    DAYS    OP    DRAKE.  161 

every  bone  in  my  body  was  broken  and 
every  sinew  cracked.  But  a  man  may  un- 
dergo a  deal  of  suffering  and  yet  live.  So 
let  us  quit  us  like  men  and  be  strong.  For 
truly,  though  we  be  in  the  hands  of  these 
devils  at  present,  God  is  near  us,  and  will 
maybe  be  nearer  ere  the  day  is  done." 

Then  our  custodians  separated  us  again, 
and  for  a  couple  of  hours  they  exercised  us 
in  the  prison  yard,  showing  us  in  what 
order  we  should  proceed  to  the  scaffold,  and 
admonishing  us  as  to  our  behavior  when  we 
had  come  there.  And  after  that  was  over,  it 
being  broad  daylight,  they  gave  us  break- 
fast, which  was  a  cup  of  wine  with  a  piece  of 
bread  fried  in  honey,  and  so  we  were  ready 
for  the  ordeal. 

There  were  some  sixty  to  seventy  prison- 
ers in  all,  of  all  nationalities,  a  considerable 
number  being  Englishmen,  and  all  of  us 
were  dressed  in  those  hideous  San-benitos, 
which  make  the  most  shameful  garb  that  a 

man  can  wear.     Being  drawn  up  in  single 
11 


162  IN    THE    DAYS    OF    DRAKE. 

file,  our  guards  fastened  a  halter  round  the 
neck  of  each  prisoner,  and  afterwards  gave 
to  each  of  us  a  green  wax  candle,  which  we 
carried,  unlighted,  in  the  right  hand.  Two 
Spaniards,  well  armed,  guarded  each  of  us, 
and  so  the  procession  being  arranged,  the 
great  doors  were  thrown  open  and  we  were 
led  forth  into  the  square. 

The  crowd  in  the  square  was  so  thick 
that  the  guards  had  much  ado  to  free 
a  passage  through  it;  but  ere  long  we 
came  to  the  scafTold,  and  were  conducted 
upon  it,  seating  ourselves  on  long  rows  of 
chairs  placed  in  full  sight  of  the  people. 
We  had  not  long  occupied  this  shameful 
position  when  the  Viceroy  and  his  officers 
came  upon  the  scaffold  by  another  flight  of 
steps,  closely  followed  by  the  Inquisitors, 
who  took  the  chief  places  and  made  much 
show  of  their  authority.  Then  three  hun- 
dred friars,  wearing  the  garb  of  their 
various  orders,  black,  white,  gray,  and 
brown,  were  marshaled  to  their  places,  and 
all  was  ready  for  the  judgments. 


IN   THE    DAYS    OF    DRAKE.  163 

Now,  we  were  so  sorely  exercised  in  our 
minds  at  that  time  because  of  the  agony  of 
sitting  there  and  wondering  when  our  turn 
would  come  and  what  our  fate  would  be, 
that  I  have  utterly  forgotten  many  of  the 
names  and  sentences  of  my  unfortunate 
companions.  Some  still  come  back  to  me, 
because  their  sentences  were  heavier  than 
those  which  have  escaped  my  memory. 

The  manner  of  judgment  was  after  this 
fashion.  The  clerk  to  the  Inquisitors 
calling  out  our  names  in  a  loud  voice,  we 
were  commanded  to  stand  up  in  our  places 
and  hear  the  judgment  of  the  Holy  Office 
upon  us. 

Thomas  White,  Cornelius  Johnson,  Peter 
Brown,  Henry  More,  all  Englishmen  ship- 
wrecked on  those  inhospitable  coasts  or 
captured  at  sea,  were  condemned  to  three 
hundred  lashes  on  horseback,  and  to  serve 
in  the  galleys  for  ten  years. 

William  Collier,  Thomas  Ford,  John 
Page,  two  hundred  lashes  and  eight  years 
in  the  galleys. 


164  IN    THE    DAYS    OF   DRAKE. 

Stephen  Brown  and  Nicholas  Peterson,  a 
Dutchman,  one  hundred  lashes  and  six 
years  in  the  galleys. 

Then  came  some  forty  or  fifty  men  whose 
names  I  have  forgotten,  who  were  con- 
demned to  a  lesser  number  of  lashes  and 
less  servitude  in  the  galleys,  and  after  them 
some  four  or  five  who  were  adjudged  to 
serve  in  monasteries  for  various  terms  of 
years,  wearing  their  San-benitos  all  the 
time. 

And  then,  after  two  or  three  hours  of 
weary  waiting,  for  they  did  everything  with 
exceeding  tediousness  and  much  ceremony, 
they  called  upon  Pharaoh  Nanjulian  and 
myself,  and  we  stood  up  together  to  receive 
sentence.  And  then  we  suddenly  knew 
that  God  had  not  deserted  us,  for  the  sen- 
tence was  a  lighter  one  than  any  that  we 
had  heard  passed.  We  were  to  serve  two 
years  in  the  galleys,  submitting  ourselves 
to  the  chaplain  for  admonition  and  instruc- 
tion. So  that  was  over  and  we  could 
breathe  freely  again. 


IN    THE    DAYS    OF    DRAKE.  165 

Nevertheless  the  horrible  work  of  that 
day  was  far  from  over,  for  it  was  hardly 
begun.  The  torments,  the  murders,  were 
yet  to  come. 

William  Moor,  John  Wood,  and  Hans 
Schewitzer,  a  German  Lutheran,  were 
brought  up  for  sentence  and  condemned, 
being  pestilent  and  naughty  heretics,  to  be 
burned  to  ashes. 

They  lost  no  time,  these  villainous 
Spaniards,  in  carrying  out  this  sentence. 
In  front  of  the  scaffold  stood  three  stout 
iron  posts,  firmly  sunk  in  the  ground,  with 
fagots  already  piled  about  them,  and  to 
these  the  unfortunate  men  were  speedily 
bound,  amidst  the  silence  of  the  crowd  and 
the  cries  of  the  monks  and  Familiars,  who 
pressed  upon  their  victims,  bidding  them 
repent  and  recant  ere  they  were  lost  for- 
ever. But  to  these  murdering  villains  the 
three  men  answered  naught,  and  presently 
it  was  all  over  with  them,  and  there  was  one 
more  crime  recorded  against  Spain. 


166  IN    THE   DAYS    OF    DRAKE. 

Then  those  of  us  who  had  been  sentenced 
to  so  many  lashes  were  led  down  from  the 
scaffold  and  placed  upon  horses,  being 
stripped  to  the  waist,  and  having  by  them, 
every  man,  an  executioner  armed  with  a 
whip.  Such  of  us  as  had  escaped  this 
sentence  were  arranged  in  pairs  behind, 
with  our  halters  still  round  our  necks  and 
our  guards  on  either  side  of  us.  Before 
the  men  who  were  to  be  whipped  marched 
two  criers,  crying  "Behold  these  English 
dogs,  Lutherans,  enemies  of  God,"  and  at 
intervals  came  Famihars,  such  as  Frey  Bar- 
tolomeo,  admonishing  the  executioners  to 
lay  on  and  spare  not.  Then  the  procession 
started,  and  was  conducted  by  the  criers 
through  all  the  principal  streets  back  to  the 
great  square,  and  at  every  few  steps  the 
executioners  laid  on  with  their  whips, 
fetching  blood  at  every  stroke,  so  that  to 
any  man  having  aught  of  mercy  and  com- 
passion within  him  the  spectacle  was  hor- 
rible and  nauseating,  though  to  the    Fa- 


IN    THE    DAYS    OF    DRAKE.  167 

miliars  and  Inquisitors  it  seemed  delight- 
ful enough. 

Now,  as  we  returned  to  the  great  square, 
this  bloody  work  being  over,  the  throng 
pressed  upon  us  so  closely  that  for  some 
few  moments  we  were  unable  to  move,  and 
while  we  stood  there  waiting  for  what 
would  happen  next,  there  came  to  our  side 
Captain  Manuel  Nunez,  his  evil  eyes  mock- 
ing and  sneering  at  us. 

"So,  Master  Salkeld,"  said  he,  "it  would 
seem  that  you  have  not  altogether  escaped. 
Our  Holy  Office  is  merciful,  Master  Sal- 
keld, yea,  sadly  too  merciful  for  my  liking. 
But  there  are  those  of  us,  who  know  not 
any  mercy  for  Englishmen  and  heretics,  as 
you  shall  find  ere  long,  both  of  you. 

With  that  he  vanished  in  the  crowd,  and 
presently  Pharaoh  and  I  were  led  back 
to  prison,  wondering  what  his  last  words 
meant. 


168  IN   THE   DAYS    OF    DRAKE. 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

ON  BOARD  THE  GALLEY. 

Being  led  back  to  the  prison,  Pharaoh 
and  I  found  to  our  unspeakable  joy  and 
astonishment  that  we  were  to  be  placed  in 
one  cell  and  not  separated  as  heretofore. 
This  consideration  on  the  part  of  our  jailers 
was  exceedingly  pleasant  to  us,  because  it 
afforded  us  the  opportunity  of  conversing 
one  with  the  other.  Therefore,  in  spite  of 
our  bruises  and  strains,  caused  by  the  rack 
and  not  yet  forgotten,  and  of  the  sad  sights 
which  we  had  that  day  seen,  we  made  an 
effort  to  pluck  up  our  spirits,  and  to  be 
cheerful  and  even  hopeful. 

We  were  further  assisted  in  this  laudable 
desire  by  a  visit  from  the  old  gentleman 
whom  we  had  rescued  from  highway- 
men on  the  road  to  Oaxaca.  About  seven 
o'clock  that  evening  he  \vas  admitted  to  our 


IN    THE    DAYS    OF    DRAKE.  169 

cell,  and  left  alone  with  us.  This  latter 
fact  at  once  assured  us  that  our  friend  was 
a  man  of  rank  and  position,  otherwise  he 
would  not  have  been  permitted  to  see  and 
speak  with  us,  save  in  the  presence  of  wit- 
nesses. 

"I  trust  all  is  well  with  you,  friends," 
said  he,  as  he  entered  our  presence,  and  set 
down  a  basket  which  the  jailer  had  carried 
to  the  door.  "I  come  to  see  you  at  a  sad 
time,  doubtless,  but  'tis  indeed  with  feelings 
of  friendship." 

"We  have  so  few  friends  in  this  country, 
Senor,"  answered  Pharaoh,  "that  we  are 
glad  to  see  any  of  them.  Nay,  indeed,  so 
far  as  we  know,  your  honor  is  the  only 
friend  we  have.  Therefore,  Senor,  you  are 
something  more  than  welcome." 

Now  the  jailer  being  gone,  the  old  gen- 
tleman took  our  hands  in  his  own,  and  was 
like  to  weep  over  us,  at  which  we  marveled, 
for  we  did  not  know  that  'his  gratitude  was 
so  hearty,  seeing  that  we  had  done  such  a 
small  thing  for  him. 


170  IN    THE    DAYS    OF    DRAKE. 

"Alas,  friends,"  said  he.  "I  grieve  for 
you  more  than  I  can  say,  for  I  hate  and 
abominate  these  murderous  Inquisitors, 
whose  hearts  are  filled  with  naught  but 
torment  and  murder.  Nevertheless  I  have 
saved  you  somewhat,  for  it  was  through  my 
efforts  and  bribes  that  you  came  ofi  with 
such  light  sentences." 

"I  thought  we  had  your  honor  to  thank 
for  that,"  said  Pharaoh.  "Aye,  'tis  well  to 
•have  a  friend  at  court  when  need  arises.'' 

"I  labored  hard,"  said  the  old  gentle- 
man, "to  secure  your  freedom,  but  these 
bloody-minded  Inquisitors  are  without 
bowels  of  mercy,  and  ye  are  fortunate  to 
have  escaped  death  or  torture.  But  now  I 
■have  brought  you  a  little  matter  of  wine 
and  fruit,  so  fall-to  and  refresh  yourselves, 
and  after  that  we  will  talk  of  what  is  to 
come.'' 

So  he  unpacked  his  basket  and  set  food 
and  wine  and  delightful  fruit  before  us,  and 
we  ate  and   drank   and  were  vastly  com- 


IN    THE    DAYS    OF    DRAKE.  171 

forted  thereby,  for  our  commons  during 
the  past  week  or  two  had  been  of  the  very 
shortest.  And  when  we  had  thus  refreshed 
ourselves,  we  began  to  discuss  our  situation 
anew. 

"That  you  have  escaped  with  your  hves 
and  without  the  torture  of  the  lash,"  said 
our  friend,  "is  due  to  my  continued  exer- 
tions on  your  behalf.  But  now,  gentlemen, 
I  am  powerless  to  do  more  for  you." 

Then  we  once  more  thanked  him  for 
doing  so  much,  saying  that  we  should 
always  hold  his  kindness  in  remembrance, 
and  should  ever  pray  for  his  happiness  and 
prosperity, 

"And  if,"  continued  I,  "your  honor  can 
suggest  any  means  by  which  we  can  escape 
from  these  galleys  and  regain  our  own  coun- 
try, we  shall  be  further  beholden  to  you. 
For,  indeed,  we  have  friends  in  England 
who  must  be  anxious  about  us,  if  they  be 
not  already  in  despair  of  ever  seeing  us 
again." 


172  IN    THE    DAYS    OF    DRAKE. 

''I  fear  there  is  small  chance  of  3'Our 
escape,"  said  he,  shaking  his  head.  "Men 
that  are  chained  to  the  oar  cannot  well 
escape.  I  pray  God  that  you  may  survive 
your  two  years  of  that  work — it  is  not  all 
that  do." 

"Sir,"  said  Pharaoh,  "do  you  know  where 
we  shall  be  taken?" 

"Nay,"  answered  he,  "that  I  cannot  say. 
Most  men  who  lie  under  your  sentence  are 
shipped  to  Spain,  and  are  there  placed  in 
the  galleys.  The  same  fate  is  probably  in 
store  for  you." 

"God  help  us  if  they  take  us  to  Spain!" 
said  Pharaoh.  "We  shall  have  to  go 
through  it  all  over  again." 

However,  it  seemed  almost  certain  that 
this  would  be  our  fate,  and  as  nothing  that 
we  could  say  or  do  could  alter  it,  there  was 
naught  for  it  but  to  submit  ourselves  with 
such  cheerfulness  as  we  could  muster. 
But  here  the  old  Senor  gave  us  some  addi- 
tional   comfort,    for    it    seemed     that     his 


IN   THE    DAYS    OP    DRAKE.  173 

special  purpose  in  coming  to  us  that  night 
was  to  give  us  the  names  of  friends  of  his 
in  certain  towns  and  ports  of  Spain,  to 
whom  we  might  apply  in  case  of  our  being 
in  their  neighborhood. 

"You  are  something  more  than  likely  to 
be  finally  dismissed  at  Cadiz  or  at  Seville," 
said  he,  "and  it  will  be  none  the  worse  if 
you  know  where  to  turn  for  a  friend ;"  and 
with  that  he  gave  us  the  names  of  certain 
Spanish  gentlemen  of  rank,  his  friends, 
assuring  us  that  they  would  help  us  to 
escape  to  England.  And  these  names  he 
made  us  learn  by  heart,  and  then,  having 
no  more  time  to  spend  with  us,  he  bade  us 
farewell,  and  we  saw  him  no  more.  But 
in  him  we  found  one  Spaniard  at  least  who 
hated  the  horrible  practices  of  the  Inquisi- 
tors, and  had  a  heart  within  him  which  was 
not  insensible  to  the  woes  of  others. 

After  we  had  remained  in  the  prison  five 
days  longer,  we  were  one  morning  brought 
forth  and  stripped  of  our  San-benitos  and 


174  IN    THE    DAYS    OF    DRAKE. 

given  rough  clothing  suited  to  galley  slaves. 
And  that  being  done  we  were  mounted  on 
stout  horses,  in  company  with  the  other 
prisoners  who  had  been  sentenced  to  serve 
in  the  galleys,  and  being  guarded  by  a  great 
number  of  soldiers,  well  armed,  we  were 
sent  off  across  country  to  the  port  of  Aca- 
pulco.  But  ere  we  left  Mexico  ever}^  man 
of  us  had  fastened  to  his  left  wrist  and 
ankle  a  heavily-weighted  chain,  which 
would  have  made  it  impossible  for  us  to 
attempt  an  escape  even  if  we  could  have 
eluded  the  vigilance  of  our  escort. 

We  were  somewhat  surprised  to  find  that 
our  first  destination  was  Acapulco,  for  we 
had  fancied  that  we  should  be  sent  to  Vera 
Cruz,  which  is  much  nearer  to  the  city  of 
Mexico,  and  from  which  we  expected  to  be 
sent  across  seas  to  Spain.  We  found,  how- 
ever, that  at  Acapulco  there  lay  at  that 
time  a  great  treasure-galleon,  the  Santa 
Filomena,  which  the  Spaniards  were  mind- 
ed to  take  home  by  way  of  the  Pacific  isl- 


IN   THE    DAYS    OF    DRAKE.  175 

ands  and  Africa,  it  being  their  belief  that  by 
this  route  there  would  be  less  chance  of 
meeting  Hawkins,  or  Drake,  or  Frobisher, 
or  any  of  the  great  English  sea-captains,  of 
whom  they  were  mortally  afraid.  In  this 
galleon,  then,  we  were  to  be  shipped,  with 
the  prospect  of  a  long  and  tedious  voyage, 
which,  according  to  Pharaoh's  calculations, 
might  cover  the  best  part  of  a  year  even 
with  fair  winds. 

Our  overland  journey  to  Acapulco  was 
not  wholly  unpleasant,  for  our  guards  be- 
ing soldiers,  and  free  from  the  encourage- 
ment of  those  murderous  fanatics  the  In- 
quisitors and  Familiars,  treated  us  with  as 
much  consideration  as  was  possible,  and 
forbore  to  taunt  us  with  our  misfortunes. 
Moreover,  we  were  frequently  lodged  for 
the  night  in  the  neighborhood  of  some  con- 
vent or  monastery,  and  then  we  did  exceed- 
ing well,  the  friars  feeding  us  with  their 
best,  and  compassionating  us  for  our  many 
sorrows.    And  at  that  time  it  was  plain  to 


176  IN    THE    DAYS    OF   DRAKE. 

US  that  the  Inquisition  was  heartily  hated 
by  the  friars — black,  white,  and  gray, — and 
met  with  no  favor  from  any  but  such  as 
had  long  since  forgotten  all  that  they  had 
ever  known  of  mercy  and  compassion. 

Having  reached  Acapulco,  after  many 
days'  journeying  over  mountains  and 
plains,  we  were  immediately  conveyed  on 
board  the  Santa  Filomena,  which  was  a 
great  galleon  of  full  rig,  having  a  high 
poop  and  a  double  bank  of  oars,  and  there 
our  chains  were  knocked  ofif  by  the  armor- 
er. This  relief,  however,  did  not  long  bene- 
fit us,  for  we  were  presently  conducted 
below  to  a  great  deck  filled  with  long 
wooden  benches,  parallel  with  the  mighty 
oars  which  came  through  the  ports.  To 
one  of  these  benches  Pharaoh  and  I  were 
immediately  chained  and  padlocked,  our 
companions  suffering  a  like  treatment.  In 
another  part  of  the  deck  the  benches  were 
filled  by  negroes,  stark  naked,  whose  backs 
and  shoulders  were  covered  by  scars,  and 


IN   THE    DAYS    OF    DRAKE.  177 

who  yelled  and  grinned  at  us  like  fiends  or 
madmen. 

"God  help  us!"  said  Pharaoh;  "they  will 
not  release  us  from  these  benches  till  we 
make  Seville  or  Cadiz," 

And  at  that  awful  prospect  I  half-regret- 
ted that  we  had  not  died  in  Mexico.  For 
simply  to  think  of  being  chained  to  the 
oar  all  those  weary  months  amidst  that  foul 
and  unclean  mass  of  humanity,  sleeping 
where  we  labored,  and  eating  amidst  dirt 
and  filth,  was  more  than  I  could  stomach, 
and  at  that  moment  black  despair  seemed 
to  settle  upon  my  heart.  But  Pharaoh  once 
more  came  to  my  aid  and  strove  to  cheer 
me. 

"Heart  up,  master!"  said  he.  "All  is  not 
yet  over.  We  are  going  through  sore  trials, 
but  what  then?  Are  we  not  Englishmen? 
At  any  rate  let  us  show  a  stern  front  to 
these  villains.    Cowards  we  will  never  be." 


12 


178  IN    THE   DAYS    OF    DRAKE. 


CHAPTER  XV. 

NUNEZ  IN  A  NEW  GUISE. 

The  second  day  after  our  arrival  at  Aca- 
pulco,  we  knew  by  the  hurry  and  scurry  on 
board  our  vessel  that  preparations  were 
being  made  for  sailing.  Our  deck  was  now 
full,  and  every  oar  was  fully  manned  with 
its  complement  of  slaves  or  captives.  Of 
these  the  majority  were  blacks,  whose  mis- 
fortunes had  transformed  them  into  noth- 
ing better  than  wild  animals;  but  there 
were  still  a  large  number  of  whites,  and 
amongst  them  thirty  to  forty  of  our  own 
countrymen.  Every  man  was  chained  to 
his  bench,  and  it  was  evident  that  there  was 
no  intention  of  releasing  us  until  our  voy- 
age came  to  an  end.  Thus  amongst  our 
miserable  company  were  many  who  hung 
their  heads  in  deep  dejection,  and  envied 


IN   THE    DAYS    OF    DRAKE.  179 

the  three  men  who  had  met  death  by  the 
flames  in  the  great  square  of  Mexico. 

Towards  the  evening  of  that  day,  as  I 
was  sitting  lost  in  sad  thoughts,  I  looked 
up  and  saw  standing  at  my  side  two  figures, 
which  I  had  given  anything  rather  than  set 
eyes  upon.  One  was  that  of  Captain 
Manuel  Nunez,  the  other  the  black-robed 
form  of  Frey  Bartolomeo.  They  stood 
regarding  me  steadfastly:  the  monk  calm 
and  quiet,  the  sailor  with  his  usual  cold 
smile  faintly  curling  about  the  eyes  and 
mouth. 

"So,  Master  Salkeld,"  said  Nunez,  "we 
meet  again.  You  are  doubtless  on  your 
way  home  to  England  to  take  vengeance 
on  your  cousin.  Master  Stapleton." 

I  looked  at  him  steadfastly.  I  was  not 
going  to  be  cowed  by  him,  defenseless  as  I 
was. 

"That  may  be,  Senor,"  said  I.  "It  is  a 
long  way  to  England  by  the  road  we  are 
taking,  but  I  shall  reach  it  if  God  wills  that 
it  should  be  so." 


180  IN   THE    DAYS    OF    DRAKE. 

"You  do  well  to  make  that  proviso," 
said  he.  "For  God  gives  His  power  to 
men,  and  at  this  moment  I,  as  master  of 
this  vessel,  and  Frey  Bartolomeo,  as  its 
chaplain,  are  his  vicegerents.  Wherefore, 
Master  Salkeld,  I  think  your  chances  are 
not  good." 

"We  are  in  God's  hands,''  said  I ;  though 
indeed  my  heart  turned  faint  and  sick  to 
think  that  these  wretches  had  us  in  their 
power. 

"At  present,  good  Master  Salkeld,  you 
are  in  mine,"  he  answered,  smiling  mock- 
ingly upon  me.  "But  then  you  know  what 
a  kind  and  considerate  host  I  am.  You  did 
admit  that,  when  I  carried  you  across  the 
Atlantic.  Still,  Master  Salkeld,  things  are 
somewhat  altered  between  us.  I  am  not 
now  paid  to  carry  you  to  Mexico  and  get 
rid  of  you.  Also,  since  then  you  have  spat 
in  my  face.  Ah,  you  remember  that,  do 
you?  Dog,  you  shall  remember  it  every 
day  of  your  life!    I  will  not  kill  you  now,  as 


IN   THE    DAYS    OP    DRAKE.  181 

I  might,  but  I  will  kill  you  by  inches,  and 
you  shall  die  at  last  at  your  bench  and  lie 
there  to  rot.  That  is  the  fate  of  the  dog 
who  spits  In  the  face  of  a  Spanish  gentle- 
man." 

So  he  turned  away,  but  the  man  sitting 
next  me  put  out  his  hand  and  plucked  the 
monk's  cloak,  bidding  him  remember  that 
he  had  promised  to  find  him  a  ship  for  Eng- 
land, and  begging  him  to  keep  his  plighted 
word.  Put  Frey  Bartolomeo  shook  him 
ofr. 

"Thou  art  a  heretic,"  he  said.  "With 
heretics  we  keep  no  faith.  To  thy  oar, 
Lutheran !" 


182  IN    THE    DAYS    OF    DRAKE. 


CHAPTER  XVL 
THE  FLAG  OF  ENGLAND. 

And  now  onr  cup  of  misery  seemed  full 
indeed.  We  were  friendless  and  captive, 
and  we  had  for  our  jailers  two  of  the  most 
inhuman  beings  that  ever  lived  to  disgrace 
the  earth,  and  both  of  them  hated  us  with 
an  exceeding  bitter  hatred;  one  because  I 
had  spat  in  his  face,  the  other  because  we 
had  escaped  the  fire.  Moreover,  we  were 
chained  to  an  oar  in  a  vessel  which  was 
sailing  over  I  know  not  how  many  thou- 
sands of  miles  of  water,  in  latitudes  where 
it  was  not  likely  we  should  fall  in  with  any 
ship  that  could  rescue  us.  Verily  there 
seemed  before  us  nothing  but  horror  and 
death ! 

And  truly  our  lot  was  hard.  Hour  upon 
hour  we  tugged  at  the  oar.  Where  we  toil- 
ed  there   we   slept,  amongst  the   shrieks. 


IN    THE    DAYS    OF    DRAKE.  183 

sobs,  groans,  and  heart-rending  lamenta- 
tions of  our  fellow-captives.  Up  and  down 
the  gangways  that  divided  us  walked  stal- 
wart Spaniards,  armed  with  heavy  whips, 
which  they  scarcely  ever  ceased  from  lay- 
ing about  our  bare  shoulders.  Our  food 
was  such  as  is  given  to  pigs  in  England — 
coarse  maize  or  meal,  soaked  in  cold  water, 
3vith  bread  of  the  blackest  and  hardest  de- 
scription. The  heat  burned  us  to  madness; 
the  cold  night-winds  blew  in  upon  us;  the 
salt-spray  dashing  through  the  open  ports 
found  the  raw  places  in  our  wounds  and 
stung  us  as  if  with  fire.  Verily,  we  were  in 
hell!  Ere  many  days  had  gone  by  a  man 
dropped  and  died  at  his  post.  They  let  him 
hang  there  by  his  chains  till  another  day 
had  gone  past,  then  they  knocked  ofif  his 
irons  and  flung  him  through  the  port-hole. 
And  there  was  scarcely  a  man  of  us  that 
did  not  envy  him. 

Now  that  Captain   Manuel  Nunez  had 
us  in  his  power  there  was  apparently  no 


184  IN   THE    DAYS    OP    DRAKE. 

limit  to  his  cruelty.  Scarcely  a  day  passed 
on  which  he  did  not  descend  the  ladder 
to  our  deck  and  vex  our  souls  with  some 
new  form  of  torture.  Sometimes  he  would 
take  his  station  near  us,  and  bid  the  over- 
seers lay  on  to  us  with  their  whips.  Some- 
times he  would  take  the  whip  himself  and 
beat  us  about  the  head  and  face  with  it 
until  we  became  senseless.  Now  and  then 
he  would  amuse  himself  by  pricking  us 
with  his  sword  or  dagger;  now  and  then 
he  would  spit  in  our  faces  and  bespatter 
us  with  filth,  pouring  out  upon  us  ever)'' 
foul  and  evil  name  he  could  think  of.  And 
when  he  had  worked  his  will  upon  us,  there 
would  come  to  us  Frey  Bartolomeo,  cold 
and  cruel,  and  he  would  admonish  and 
instruct  us,  and  finding  that  he  could  get 
naught  out  of  us,  would  depart  cursing  us 
for  Lutherans  and  dogs. 

Tliese  two  presently  devised  a  new  tor- 
ture, and  put  it  into  operation  upon  us. 
They  caused  the  ship's  armorer  to  make 


IN    THE    DAYS    OF    DRAKE.  185 

an  iron  brand,  bearing  the  word  "Heretic", 
and  this  being  heated  red,  they  came  down 
to  us  and  branded  us  on  back  and  breast, 
so  that  all  men,  they  said,  should  know  us 
for  what  we  were.  And  after  that  they 
gave  us  more  lashes,  and  then  deluged  us 
with  salt  water,  and  so  left  us  more  dead 
than  alive. 

Now,  after  I  had  undergone  some  weeks 
of  this  treatment,  I  was  like  to  have  lost  my 
senses,  for  the  strength  of  my  body  was 
giving  out,  and  I  felt  myself  powerless  to 
resist  the  continued  cruelties  and  insults 
which  were  put  upon  me.  Yea,  I  should 
certainly  have  gone  mad  at  that  time  if  it 
had  not  been  for  my  faithful  companion, 
Pharaoh  Nanjulian,  who  did  his  best  to 
cheer  and  support  me,  and  got  no  reward 
for  it  but  an  increase  of  blows  and  stripes 
from  Nunez,  and  venomous  curses  from 
Frey  Bartolomeo. 

It  was  one  of  Nunez's  chief  delights  at 
this  period  to  come  down  upon  our  deck 


186  IN    THE   DAYS    OF    DRAKE. 

and  goad  me  into  a  rage  that  closely  ap- 
proached madness.  Tlius  after  exposing 
me  to  numerous  insults,  he  would  ask  me 
what  I  proposed  to  do  when  I  reached 
England  again,  and  what  fate  I  was  keep- 
ing in  store  for  my  cousin  Stapleton. 

"It  must  afford  you  the  most  exquisite 
delight  of  which  the  human  mind  is  capa- 
ble. Master  Salkeld,"  he  said  one  day,  when 
he  had  tormented  and  plagued  me  beyond 
endurance,  "to  sit  here  in  these  pleasant 
quarters  and  think  of  your  cousin  at  home. 
He  hath  doubtless  entered  upon  the  family 
estates  and  married  the  lady  whose  affec- 
tions you  stole  from  him,  and  maybe  he 
hath  by  this  time  told  her  of  the  trick  he 
played  upon  you,  and  they  laugh  at  it  to- 
gether." 

And  at  that  I  cursed  him  before  God 
and  man  and  wept  bitter  tears,  for  I  was 
thoroughly  broken,  and  had  no  more  heart 
in  me  than  a  child. 

"So  you  are  broken  at  last?"  said  he,  and 


IN   THE    DAYS    OP    DRAKE.  187 

struck  me  across  the  mouth  and  went  away. 

And  then  I  wished  to  die,  for  I  was  in- 
deed broken;  but  Pharaoh  did  his  best  to 
console  me  and  bade  me  be  of  good  cheer, 
for  we  should  triumph  yet. 

Now  the  next  day,  our  voyage  having 
then  lasted  some  nine  or  ten  weeks,  we 
were  aware  of  a  sail  bearing  down  upon 
us  from  the  south-east,  and  before  long  it 
became  evident  that  this  ship  was  chasing 
us,  whereupon  there  was  much  to-do  on 
board  the  Santa  Filomena,  and  our  over- 
seers urged  us  to  renewed  exertions  with 
continual  lashing  of  their  whips.  Never- 
theless, within  three  hours  the  ship  had 
overhauled  us,  and  from  our  post  we  saw 
flying  from  her  masthead  the  flag  of  Eng- 
land. 


188  IN   THE   DAYS   OF   DRAKE. 


CHAPTER  XVII. 

FRANCIS  DRAKE. 

Now,  if  you  can  bring  yourself  to 
imagine  what  he  feels  like  who,  having  re- 
mained in  dire  and  horrible  distress  for 
many  weary  days,  suddenly  sees  salvation 
coming  to  him,  you  will  know  what  we 
felt  as  we  gazed  through  the  port-hole  and 
saw  that  noble  English  ship  draw  near  with 
the  English  flag  flying  at  her  mast-head. 
If  you  have  ever  been  in  like  peril  your- 
self you  will  understand  it  better.  A  man 
condemned  to  die  and  suddenly  reprieved; 
another  suddenly  released  from  awful 
slaver}^;  a  third  suffering  from  heavy  sor- 
row and  suddenly  overwhelmed  with  good 
tidings — any  of  these  will  know  what  we 
felt. 

"An  English  ship!"  cried  Pharaoh. 
"Thanks  be  to  God — an  English  ship!" 


IN    THE    DAYS    OF    DRAKE.  189 

And  straightway  there  rose  from  the 
crowded  benches  on  our  deck  a  strange  and 
marvelous  babble  of  sound.  Some  burst 
into  tears  of  thankfulness  and  relief,  some 
howled  like  wild  beasts  because  of  their 
chains,  some  cursed  and  blasphemed  be- 
cause there  was  small  chance  of  the  En- 
glish ship's  folk  knowing  our  condition. 
Others  shouted  and  yelled  for  help;  the 
men  sitting  next  the  port-holes  thrust  forth 
their  heads  and  cried  loudly  across  the 
waters,  though  the  ship  was  yet  a  good 
mile  away.  Every  man  betrayed  his  emo- 
tion and  his  misery  in  some  way:  here  they 
tugged  at  the  chains  which  bound  them, 
there  they  showed  their  teeth  at  the  Span- 
iards, snarling  and  snapping  like  dogs 
chained  to  a  staple  in  the  wall.  And  then 
the  overseers  fell  upon  us  once  more,  and 
their  great  hide-whips  descended  merciless- 
ly upon  our  shoulders,  so  that  we  were 
forced  to  tug  at  the  oars  with  redoubled 
force,  and  the  galleon  shot  forward  again 


190  IN    THE    DAYS    OF    DRAKE. 

under  a  storm  of  yells  and  cries  and  loud 
groans. 

"Yon  is  an  English  ship,  as  I  live,"  said 
Pharaoh,  as  we  tugged  at  our  oar.  "And 
she  will  overhaul  us.  Pray  Grod  she  does 
not  slay  a  score  of  us  in  this  rat-trap  by 
her  first  shot.  If  she  only  knew  what  we 
know.    Listen,  master!" 

Over  the  strip  of  sea  that  separated  us 
came  the  dull,  heavy  roar  of  a  cannon-shot. 
They  were  firing  at  us  in  order  to  make 
the  Spaniard  lay-to.  But  Captain  Manuel 
Nunez  had  no  intention  of  acceding  to  the 
Englishman's  wishes  in  that  respect,  and  it 
was  evident  that  he  was  crowding  on  all 
sail,  and  making  every  possible  effort  to 
escape  that  terrible  ship  which  overhauled 
him  hand  over  hand.  On  deck  we  heard 
the  Spaniards  rushing  hither  and  thither, 
the  mates  and  boatswain  shrieking  and 
yelling  orders  to  the  crew,  the  armorer  and 
the  soldiers  making  ready  the  ordnance  and 
small  arms.    Now  and  then  we  caught  the 


IN    THE    DAYS    OF    DRAKE.  191 

voice  of  Nunez,  cool  and  collected  as  usual, 
but  very  fierce  and  determined;  and  once 
the  pale  face  of  Frey  Bartolomeo  appeared, 
and  we  heard  him  admonishing  the  over- 
seers to  lay  on  with  their  whips. 

"We  are  like  to  be  flayed  alive  if  this 
goes  on  much  longer,"  muttered  Pharaoh 
as  the  lash  curled  about  his  shoulders  again. 
"Oh,  if  we  were  but  free  and  had  some 
weapon  in  our  hands!  Lay  on,  ye  mur- 
derous villains,  lay  on !  Your  reign  is  well- 
nigh  over.  Master,  hold  up  a  while  longer. 
See  there!" 

Another  puff  of  white  smoke  burst  from 
the  English  ship's  side,  followed  by  a  dull 
roar,  and,  immediately  after,  by  a  loud 
crashing  and  splintering  of  the  deck  above 
our  heads.  Tlien  came  shrieks,  groans, 
and  loud  cries  of  pain.  The  shot  had  swept 
the  deck.  Fathom  by  fathom  the  English 
ship  overhauled  us.  Through  our  port- 
hole we  could  see  her  deck  swarming  with 
men  armed  to  the    teeth.     On    her    poop 


192  IN   THE    DAYS    OP    DRAKE. 

Stood  a  little  knot  of  men  evidently  in  com- 
mand, and  one  of  these  was  directing  the 
boatswain  with  outstretched  ami. 

"I  see  their  plan/'  said  Pharaoh;  "they 
have  seen  the  oars,  and  they  are  minded 
not  to  fire  upon  us  again  for  fear  of  killing 
or  wounding  the  captives.  They  are  going 
to  lay  their  ship  alongside  ours  and  board 
us." 

So  the  ship  came  nearer  and  nearer, 
sailing  nearly  twice  as  fast  as  our  great 
lumbering  galleon,  and  at  last  we  could 
make  out  the  faces  of  the  men  on  deck. 
And  suddenly  Pharaoh  set  up  a  great  cry 
that  made  every  Englishman  on  our  deck 
turn  to  him  with  astonishment. 

"'Tis  Francis  Drake!"  he  cried.  "God 
be  thanked,  'tis  Francis  Drake  himself! 
See  yonder,  lads,  there  he  stands  on  the 
poop.  Are  there  any  men  here  that  ever 
served  under  Francis  Drake?  If  so,  let 
them  look  out  at  yonder  captain  and 
speak." 


IN   THE    DAYS    OF    DRAKE.  193 

"  Tis  Francis  Drake  and  no  other!"  cried 
one,  "I  know  him  by  the  gold  band  round 
his  scarlet  cap.  He  always  wears  that  at 
sea.  Now  may  God  be  praised  for  this  de- 
liverance." 

But  there  was  much  to  be  done  ere  our 
deliverance  could  be  accomplished.  Nay, 
indeed,  it  seemed  as  if  our  cruel  jailers  were 
minded  to  murder  us  before  ever  help 
would  come,  for  they  proceeded  to  beat  us 
so  unmercifully  with  their  whips  that  many 
of  us  sank  down  faint  and  bleeding,  and  lay 
like  dead  men.  But  the  rest  of  us  kept  up 
because  of  the  fierce  excitement. 

Presently  the  English  ship  was  within  a 
boat's  length  of  us,  and  then  she  slowly 
crashed  against  our  side,  the  brass  muzzles 
of  her  guns,  in  some  cases,  coming  through 
our  ports.  Meanwhile  the  Spaniards  had 
not  been  idle,  for  their  gunners  were  plying 
their  cannon  with  all  possible  speed,  and 
the  noise  and  confusion  was  horrible.  But 
yet  never  a  shot  did  the  Englishman  fire, 

13 


194  IN    THE    DAYS    OP    DRAKE. 

but  their  ship  closed  steadily  upon  us.  At 
last  we  heard  the  grappling-irons  thrown 
out  and  made  fast,  and  knew  that  the  two 
ships  were  locked  together,  like  lions  that 
fasten  teeth  and  claws  in  each  other  and 
will  not  loose  their  grip  till  death  comes. 

Then  began  a  noise  and  confusion  as  if 
all  the  devils  of  hell  had  suddenly  been  let 
loose.  We  heard  the  shouts  of  the  English- 
men, hoarse  and  deep,  and  the  shriller 
cries  of  the  Spaniards,  above  the  roaring  of 
the  guns.  On  deck  there  sounded  the  wild 
rush  and  hurry  of  feet  as  the  combatants 
were  driven  hither  and  thither.  The  over- 
seers had  thrown  down  their  whips  and  fled 
to  the  upper  decks  as  soon  as  the  English 
boarded,  and  now  we  captives  sat  breath- 
less and  bleeding,  listening  to  the  noise 
above  us  and  longing  for  release,  so  that 
we  too  might  join  in  the  fight. 

Suddenly  there  leapt  through  one  of  the 
ports  a  brawny  Englishman,  armed  not 
with  sword  or  pike,  but  with  hammer  and 


IN    THE    DAYS    OF    DRAKE.  195 

chisel,  and  he  was  speedily  followed  by 
half-a-dozen  more,  armed  in  similar  fash- 
ion. 

"Are  there  Englishmen  here?"  roared 
the  first  as  he  tumbled  in  amongsit  us. 
"Speak,  lads,  if  ye  be  English!" 

And  at  that  there  went  up  such  a  roar 
as  was  like  to  burst  open  the  deck  above 
us.  Men  stretched  out  their  hands  and 
arms  to  these  great  English  sailors  as  if 
they  were  angels,  and  prayed  them  to 
knock  off  their  bonds.  So  they,  staring 
stupidly  at  us  for  a  moment, — as  is  the 
manner  of  Englishmen  when  they  see 
something  which  they  do  not  understand, 
— suddenly  fell  to  and  knocked  away  our 
chains  and  padlocks,  while  we  wept  over 
them  and  blessed  them  as  our  saviors. 
And  meanwhile  others  had  handed  in  pikes 
and  swords  and  glaives  through  the  ports, 
and  others  were  guarding  the  ladder 
against  the  Spaniards,  in  case  any  of  them 
should  come  below.     But   they    were    too 


196  IN   THE    DAYS    OF    DRAKE. 

busy  on  the  upper  decks  to  have  even  a 
thought  of  us,  and  so  we  were  uninter- 
rupted, and  ere  long  every  man  of  us  was 
free  of  his  chains. 

"Now,  lads !' '  cried  the  big  man  who  had 
first  leapt  in  upon  us,  "can  ye  fight,  or  are 
ye  too  weak  for  a  brush?  If  any  man 
thinks  he  can  hold  pike  or  sword,  let  him 
pick  his  weapon  and  follow  me." 

Some  of  us  could  fight  and  some  could 
not.  Here  and  there  a  man  was  only  re- 
leased from  his  chains  to  fall  upon  the  deck 
and  die.  Others,  suddenly  made  free,  found 
on  striving  to  rise  from  the  benches  that 
the  use  of  their  legs  was  gone.  Others 
again,  whose  minds  had  suffered  under 
those  long  months  of  fiendish  torture,  were 
no  sooner  released  than  they  became  utter- 
ly mad,  and  fell  to  laughing  and  gibbering 
at  their  preservers.  But  many  of  us,  weak 
as  we  were,  felt  the  strength  of  ten  men 
come  into  our  arms,  and  we  seized  eagerly 
upon  the  weapons  offered  to  us,  and  fol- 


IN    THE    DAYS    OF    DRAKE  197 

lowed  the  sailors  up  the  gangway  with  a 
fierce  resolve  to  call  our  late  oppressors  to 
a  final  account. 

On  the  upper  deck  the  fight  was  raging 
furiously.  The  Spaniards,  furious  and 
desperate,  were  massed  together  in  a  solid 
body,  keeping  back  the  Englishmen  by 
sheer  skill.  Already  between  the  gang- 
ways and  the  bulwarks  lay  a  great  heap  of 
dead  and  dying.  High  above  the  com- 
batants on  the  poop  stood  Nunez,  his  pale 
face  set  and  drawn,  watching  the  progress 
of  the  fight  with  gleaming  eyes  and  com- 
pressed lips.  From  the  tops  the  sharp- 
shooters were  pouring  showers  of  arrows 
into  the  English  ship,  but  the  guns  had 
ceased,  and  the  gunners  lay  dead  beside 
them. 

We  dashed  on  deck  with  a  great  cry,  and 
for  an  instant  the  whole  body  of  combatants 
turned  and  looked  at  us.  A  strange  and 
awful  sight  we  must  needs  have  presented 
at  that  moment.    There  was  scarcely  a  rag 


198  IN    THE    DAYS    OF    DRAKE. 

upon  us,  our  hair  was  long  and  unkempt, 
our  shoulders  were  torn  and  bleeding 
from  the  effects  of  the  lashes  lately  laid  on 
them,  and  our  entire  aspect  must  have  re- 
sembled that  of  wild  beasts  rather  than  of 
men.  I  saw  Nunez  turn  paler  as  he  caught 
sight  of  us,  and  heard  the  EngHsh  storm 
of  execration  burst  forth  over  the  noise  and 
confusion  of  the  fight.  Then  we  fell  upon 
the  Spaniards  from  behind,  and  after  that 
all  was  red,  and  I  seemed  to  do  naught  but 
strike  and  strike  again,  unconscious  of  pain 
or  wounds  or  anything  but  a  fierce  desire 
to  be  avenged  on  the  villains  who  had 
wrought  such  cruelty  upon  me. 

Howbeit,  after  a  time  I  felt  myself 
dragged  by  a  friendly  hand  out  of  the  thick 
of  the  fight  and  led  across  the  bulwarks  to 
the  English  ship,  where  I  was  presently 
conducted  on  to  the  poop,  into  the  presence 
of  a  man  whom  I  at  once  knew  to  be  some 
great  captain.  He  was  of  middle  height, 
with  a  high  forehead,    crisp    brown    hair, 


IN   THE    DAYS    OF    DRAKE.  199 

very  steady  gray  eyes,  and  a  hard,  fierce 
mouth,  sHghtly  covered  by  a  beard  and 
moustache.  He  wore  a  loose,  dark,  sea- 
man's shirt,  belted  at  the  waist,  and  about 
his  neck  was  a  plaited  cord,  having  at- 
tached to  it  a  ring,  with  which  his  fingers 
played  as  he  spoke  to  me.  On  his  head 
was  a  scarlet  cap  with  a  gold  band,  even  as 
the  man  in  the  galleon  had  said. 

Such  was  my  first  glimpse  of  the  great 
captain,  Francis  Drake,  then  thirty  years 
of  age,  and  making  his  first  voyage  round 
the  world.  I  stood  staring  at  him  for  a 
moment,  and  he  at  me,  and  I  know  not 
which  was  most  interested  in  the  other. 

"Who  art  thou,  friend?"  he  inquired, 
presently. 

"An  English  gentleman,  sir,  kidnaped  by 
the  Spaniards  and  carried  to  Mexico,  where 
I  have  undergone  torments  at  the  hands  of 
the  Inquisitors.  I  was  a  galley  slave  on 
board  yonder  vessel." 

"How  many  Englishmen  are  there  with 
vou?" 


200  IN    THE    DAYS    OF    DRAKE. 

"At  least  forty." 

"Does  the  ship  carry  treasure?" 

"Yes,  sir,"  I  answered;  "and  she  also  car- 
ries two  of  the  most  cruel  wretches  that 
ever  walked  the  earth." 

"Who  are  they,  friend?" 

"Manuel  Nunez,  the  captain,  and  Barto- 
lomeo,  the  monk.  In  God's  name,  sir,  do 
justice  upon  them,'' 

He  turned  and  gave  some  orders  to  an 
officer  who  stood  by.  Then  he  gave  his 
attention  to  the  Spanish  ship  again,  so  I 
caught  up  my  weapon  and  rushed  back 
over  the  side,  eager  to  find  Pharaoh  Nan- 
julian. 


IN    THE    DAYS    OF    DRAKE.  201 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 

THE    FATE   OF   NUNEZ    AND    FREY    BAR- 
TOLOMEO. 

By  that  time  the  fight  was  well-nigh 
over.  During  its  progress  another  English 
ship  had  sailed  up  on  the  other  side  of  the 
Spaniard,  and  her  men  were  now  swarming 
over  the  side,  eager  to  have  some  share  in 
the  struggle.  Thus  it  came  about  that  in 
a  few  moments,  the  Spaniards  were  com- 
pletely worsted,  and  were  forced  to  lay 
down  their  arms  and  beg  for  mercy. 

I  found  Pharaoh  Nanjulian  busily  occu- 
pied in  seeing  to  the  removal  of  several 
men,  who  were  too  weak  to  move  of  their 
own  accord,  from  the  benches  where  we 
had  lately  been  chained.  These  were  being 
carried  to  the  English  ships,  where  they 
were  received  with  such  indignation  as  is 
felt  by  honest  men  who  abhor  cruelty.    So 


202  IN    THE    DAYS    OF    DRAKE. 

strong,  indeed,  were  the  feelings  aroused 
amongst  the  EngHsh  sailors  at  the  sight  of 
our  bleeding  backs,  that  their  officers  had 
much  ado  to  prevent  them  from  slaying  the 
Spaniards  without  mercy. 

"Where  is  the  monk,  Pharaoh?"  I  said. 
"He  must  not  escape.  Have  you  seen 
aught  of  him  during  the  fight?" 

But  Pharaoh  had  seen  naught.  He  had 
been  fighting  hard  himself,  and  that  being 
over  he  had  turned  his  attention  to  such  of 
our  unfortunate  companions  as  were  un- 
able to  help  themselves. 

"He  cannot  be  far  away,  master,"  said  he. 
"The  rat  will  have  found  some  hole,  no 
doubt." 

At  that  moment  one  of  Drake's  officers 
came  pressing  on  board,  asking  for  the 
friar. 

"Bring  him  aboard  the  Golden  Hinde 
unharmed,"  said  he,  "and  the  Spanish  cap- 
tain too.  'Tis  Captain  Drake's  special  or- 
der. Harm  neither  of  them,  but  /'lave  them 
aboard." 


IN    THE    DAYS    OF    DRAKE.  203 

But  neither  Nunez  nor  Frey  Bartolomeo 
were  to  be  seen.  Their  men,  such  as  sur- 
vived— 'and  they  were  but  few, — stood 
bound  on  deck,  glaring  sullenly  at  their 
captors,  but  neither  monk  nor  captain  were 
at  hand. 

"Try  the  cabin,"  said  one,  and  we  made 
our  way  to  the  cabin  under  the  poop,  where 
Nunez  was  used  to  sit.  But  the  door  was 
fast,  and  we  had  to  break  it  down.  As  the 
first  man  rushed  in  he  fell  back  dead,  with 
a  sword-thrust  through  his  heart  from 
Nunez,  while  the  second  dropped  with  a 
dagger-wound  in  his  throat.  But  ere  he 
could  strike  again  Pharaoh  Nanjulian  had 
seized  him  by  the  neck,  and  Captain 
Manuel  Nunez  was  dragged  into  the  light, 
dispossessed  of  his  weapons  and  bound  se- 
curely. I  stood  and  looked  at  him,  and 
suddenly  the  fierce  scowl  of  hate  and  rage 
cleared  away  from  his  features,  and  the  old 
mocking,  cold  smile  began  to  play  about 
the  corners  of  his  eyes  and  mouth  again. 


204  IN    THE    DAYS    OF    DRAKE. 

"The  fortunes  of  war,  Master  Salkeld," 
said  he.  "Yesterday  you  were  down  and  I 
was  up.  To-day  you  are  up  and  I  am 
down.    'Tis  fate." 

But  I  had  no  time  to  talk  with  him  then, 
for  I  was  anxious  to  find  Frey  Bartolomeo. 
Therefore  Pharaoh  and  I  left  Nunez  with 
the  officer  and  began  searching  the  ship 
high  and  low.  Because  on  first  coming 
aboard  her  we  had  been  straightway  con- 
ducted to  the  oars  we  knew  next  to  noth- 
ing of  the  Santa  Filomena,  and  were  ac- 
cordingly some  time  in  getting  our  bear- 
ings. Nevertheless  we  could  find  no  trace 
of  the  monk,  who  seemed  to  have  vanished 
into  thin  air,  or  to  have  gone  overboard 
during  the  fight.  He  was  not  to  be  found 
either  in  cockpit  or  cabin,  forecastle  or 
lazaretto,  and  at  last  we  stared  blankly  in 
each  other's  faces  and  wondered  what  had 
become  of  him. 

"There  is  one  place  we  have  not  yet 
tried,"  said  Pharaoh,  "and  that  is  the  pow- 


IN    THE    DAYS    OF    DRAKE.  205 

der  magazine.  Maybe  he  has  retreated 
there." 

We  fetched  a  Spaniard  from  the  upper 
deck  and  obliged  him  to  conduct  us  to  the 
magazine,  and  there,  sure  enough,  was 
Frey  Bartolomeo,  cahn  and  impassive  as 
ever.  He  had  stove  in  the  head  of  one 
barrel  of  gunpowder,  and  now  stood  over 
the  powder  holding  a  lighted  candle  in  his 
hand.  As  we  burst  in  the  door  and  con- 
fronted him,  he  raised  his  pale  face  and 
regarded  us  with  calmness  and  scorn. 

"Lay  but  a  finger  on  me,  ye  Lutheran 
dogs,"  he  said,  "and  I  will  drop  this  light 
into  the  powder  and  send  your  souls  to 
perdition!" 

The  men  with  us  started  back,  dismayed 
and  affrighted  by  his  grim  looks  and  de- 
termined words.  But  Pharaoh  Nanjulian 
laughed. 

"Your  own  soul  will  go  with  ours,  friar," 
said  he. 

Frey  Bartolomeo  shot  a  fierce  glance  at 
him  from  under  his  cowl. 


206  IN   THE    DAYS    OF    DRAKE. 

"Fool!"  he  said.  "Thinkest  thou  that  I 
value  life?  What  hinders  me  from  de- 
stroying every  one  of  you  and  myself  as 
well?" 

"This!"  said  Pharaoh,  suddenly  knock- 
ing the  candle  out  of  his  hand.  It  flew 
across  the  powder,  and  striking  a  bulkhead 
opposite,  went  out  harmlessly.  So  we 
seized  Frey  Bartolomeo,  who  now  bitterly 
reproached  himself  for  not  having  blown 
up  the  ship  before  we  reached  him,  and 
conducted  him  to  the  upper  deck,  from 
whence  he  and  Captain  Nunez  were  pre- 
sently conveyed  to  the  Golden  Hinde, 
where  they  were  safely  stowed  in  irons. 

And  now,  the  fight  being  over,  Drake 
and  his  men  made  haste  to  see  what  treas- 
ure the  galleon  contained.  In  this  quest, 
however,  those  of  us  who  had  been  rescued 
from  the  oars  took  no  part,  for  now  that 
the  excitement  was  dying  away  our  fever- 
ish strength  went  with  it,  so  that  we 
presently   began   to  exhibit   signs   of  ter- 


IN   THE    DAYS    OP    DRAKE.  207 

rible  distress  and  exhaustion,  and  many  of 
us  swooned  away.  Here,  however,  our 
rescuers  came  to  our  further  relief,  and  the 
ship's  doctor  was  soon  busily  engaged  in 
seeing  to  us,  dressing  our  wounds,  giving 
us  oils  and  unguents  for  our  bloody  stripes, 
and  ordering  wine  and  food  for  all  of  us. 
So  we  were  much  refreshed;  but  none  of 
these  things,  comforting  as  they  were, 
seemed  so  good  to  us  as  the  words  of  kind- 
ness, which  we  heard  with  wonder  and  as- 
tonishment, our  ears  having  become 
accustomed  to  naught  but  threatenings  and 
revilings. 

While  we  were  occupied  in  this  pleasant 
fashion,  Drake's  men  transferred  a  vast 
amount  of  treasure  from  the  Santa  Filo- 
mena  to  the  Golden  Hinde.  There  was  a 
large  quantity  of  jewels,  fourteen  chests  of 
ryals  of  plate,  over  a  hundred  pounds 
weight  of  gold,  twenty  tons  of  uncoined 
silver,  and  pieces  of  wrought  gold  and  sil- 
ver plate  of  great  value.    The  discovery  of 


208  IN   THE    DAYS   OF    DRAKE. 

all  this  treasure  put  our  newly-found 
friends  in  high  good-humor,  such  ventures 
not  having  come  in  their  way  since  they 
had  left  the  coast  of  Panama  some  months 
previous. 

When  all  this  treasure  had  been  trans- 
ferred to  Drake's  vessel,  the  Golden  Hinde, 
the  admiral  sent  for  the  Englishmen  who 
had  been  rescued  from  the  Santa  Filomena, 
and  gave  audience  to  us  on  the  quarter- 
deck. A  sad  and  sorry  multitude  we 
looked,  spite  of  the  surgeon's  care,  as  we 
stood  gazing  at  the  great  sea-captain  who 
had  rescued  us,  and  waiting  for  him  to 
speak. 

"Friends  and  fellow-countrymen,"  said 
he,  "every  one  of  you  shall  go  back  with  me 
to  England.  We  have  strange  tales  to  tell 
ourselves,  and  so,  it  is  somewhat  evident, 
have  ye.  Be  content  now,  I  will  charge 
myself  with  your  welfare.  Where  is  he  that 
spoke  with  me  this  morning?" 

So  I  stepped  forward,  and  he  looked  up- 
on me  keenly. 


IN   THE   DAYS   OP   DRAKE.         20d 

"Thy  name,  friend?" 

"Humphrey  Salkeld,  sir,  nephew  of  Sir 
Thurstan  Salkeld  of  Beechcot,  in  the  East 
Riding  of  Yorkshire." 

"Tell  me  thy  tale,  Master  Salkeld." 

So  I  gave  him  the  history  that  I  have 
here  written  down,  and  when  it  came  to  our 
doings  in  Mexico  I  spoke  for  Pharaoh 
Nan  Julian  and  for  all  who  stood  behind  me. 
When  I  had  got  to  the  period  which  we 
spent  on  board  the  Santa  Filomena,  my 
companions  in  distress  bared  their  shoul- 
ders and  backs,  and  showed  him  the  scars 
and  the  wounds  and  the  stripes  which  we 
had  received.  Then  his  face  grew  stern 
and  set  and  the  English  sailors  that  stood 
by  groaned  in  their  wrath  and  indignation. 

"I  am  beholden  to  you,  Master  Salkeld," 
he  said,  when  I  had  done.  "Are  there  any 
of  you  that  would  say  more?" 

But  none  wished  to  speak  save  one  old 
white-haired  man,  who  Hfted  up  his  hand 
and  called  God  to  witness  that  all  I  had  said 

14 


210         IN   THE    DAYS    OP    DRAKE. 

was  true,  and  that  our  torments  under  the 
Inquisition  had  been  such  as  could  only  be 
prompted  by  the  devil. 

Then  Drake  commanded  his  men  to 
bring  forward  Manuel  Nunez  and  Frey 
Bartolomeo,  and  presently  they  stood  be- 
fore us,  still  bold  and  defiant,  and  Drake 
looked  upon  them. 

"I  am  thinking,  Senors,"  said  he,  "that  if 
I  had  wrought  such  misdeeds  upon  your 
people  as  you  have  upon  mine,  and  you 
had  caught  me  red-handed  as  I  have  caught 
you,  there  would  have  been  something  in 
the  way  of  torture  for  me  before  I  came  to 
my  last  end.  But  be  not  alarmed;  we  En- 
glishmen love  justice,  but  we  hate  cruelty. 
And  so  we  will  be  just  to  you,  and  we  will 
send  you  to  your  true  place,  where  there 
is  doubtless  a  reward  prepared  for  you. 
Hang  them  to  the  yard-arm  of  their  own 
ship." 

So  they  carried  Nunez  and  the  monk 
over  the  side,  and  presently  their  bodies 


IN    THE    DAYS    OF    DRAKE.  211 

swung  from  the  yard-arm  of  the  Santa  Filo- 
mena,  and  so  they  passed  to  their  reward. 
And  as  for  Nunez,  he  mocked  us  till  the 
end,  but  the  monk  said  never  a  word,  but 
stared  fixedly  before  him,  seeming  to  care 
no  more  for  death  than  he  had  for  the  suf- 
ferings that  he  had  heaped  upon  his  fel- 
low-men. 

After  that  Drake  restored  the  Spaniards 
whom  we  had  captured  to  their  own  ship, 
and  bade  them  go  home,  or  back  to  Mexi- 
co, or  wherever  they  pleased,  and  to  tell 
their  masters  what  Francis  Drake  had  done 
to  them,  and  that  he  would  do  the  same  to 
every  Spaniard  who  crossed  his  path. 


212  IN   THE  DAYS   OF   DRAKE. 


CHAPTER  XIX. 

HOME  WITH  DRAKE. 

During  our  awful  captivity  on  board  the 
galleon  we  had  well-nigh  lost  all  count  or 
notion  of  time.  To  us  one  day  was  pretty 
much  like  another.  If  we  slept  it  was  only 
to  be  awakened  by  the  overseer's  whip. 
Day  or  night  it  was  all  one  with  us;  never 
did  our  tormentors  cease  to  afifiict  us.  We 
were  reduced  to  the  condition  of  animals, 
and  had  not  even  the  comfort  which  is  al- 
lowed to  them.  Thus  when  the  time  of  our 
rescue  came,  we  had  no  notion  of  where  we 
were  or  what  part  of  the  year  it  was. 

We  now  found  that  it  was  the  middle  of 
August,  and  that  we  were  in  the  North 
Pacific  Ocean  and  bearing  direct  for  the 
Moluccas,  where  Drake  intended  to  trade 
before  continuing  his  voyage  homeward  by 
way  of  the  Cape.    We  also  learnt  that  this 


IN    THE    DAYS    OF    DRAKE.  213 

great  captain  was  now  taking  his  first  voy- 
age round  the  world,  and  that  he  had  had 
many  great  and  remarkable  adventures  on 
the  Spanish  Main  and  on  the  coast  of  Peru, 
and  had  enriched  his  vessels  with  the  spoils 
of  Spanish  treasure-ships,  so  that  he  now 
had  with  him  a  store  of  great  and  unusual 
value.  For  from  some  ships  he  had  taken 
bars  of  silver,  and  from  others  blocks  of 
gold,  together  with  rich  ladings,  merchan- 
dise and  silks,  so  rare  and  curious  as  to  be 
worth  great  sums  of  money.  And  all  this 
treasure  had  been  chiefly  won  from  the 
Spaniards  in  fair  fight,  and  that  without 
any  cruelty  or  lust  of  blood  or  revenge. 

About  the  thirteenth  day  of  September 
we  came  within  view  of  some  islands,  situ- 
ated about  eight  degrees  northward  from 
the  line.  From  these  the  islanders  came  out 
to  us  in  canoes  hollowed  out  of  solid  trunks 
of  a  tree,  and  raised  very  high  out  of  the 
water  at  both  ends,  so  that  they  almost 
formed  a  semicircle.     These  canoes  were 


214  IN    THE    DAYS    OF   DRAKE. 

polished  so  highly  that  they  shone  hke 
ebony,  and  were  kept  steady  by  pieces  of 
timber  fixed  on  each  side  of  them  by  strong 
canes,  fastened  at  one  end  to  the  canoe, 
and  at  the  other  to  the  timber. 

The  first  company  that  came  out  to  us 
brought  fruits,  potatoes,  and  other  com- 
modities, none  of  any  great  value,  and 
seemed  anxious  to  trade  with  us,  making  a 
great  show  of  good-will  and  honesty.  Soon 
after,  however,  they  sent  out  another  fleet 
of  canoes,  the  crews  of  which  showed 
themselves  to  be  nothing  better  than 
thieves,  for  if  we  placed  anything  in  their 
hands  they  immediately  considered  it  to  be- 
long to  them,  and  would  neither  restore 
nor  pay  for  it.  Upon  this  we  were  obliged 
to  get  rid  of  them,  which  we  did  by  dis- 
charging a  gun.  As  they  had  never  seen 
ordnance  discharged  before  they  were  vast- 
ly astonished  by  this,  and  fled  precipitately 
to  the  shore,  having  first  pelted  us  with 
showers  of  stones  which  they  carried  in 
their  canoes. 


IN    THE    DAYS    OF    DRAKE.  215 

On  the  fifth  of  November  we  cast  anchor 
before  Ternate,  and  had  scarce  arrived 
when  the  viceroy  of  that  place,  attended  by 
the  chief  nobles,  came  out  in  three  boats, 
rowed  by  forty  men  on  each  side.  Soon 
afterwards  appeared  the  king  himself,  at- 
tended by  a  large  and  imposing  retinue. 
Him  we  received  with  discharges  of  cannon 
and  musketry,  together  with  various  kinds 
of  music,  with  which  he  was  so  highly  de- 
lighted that  he  would  have  the  musicians 
down  into  his  own  boat.  At  this  place  we 
stayed  some  days,  trafificking  with  the  in- 
habitants, who  brought  us  large  quantities 
of  provisions,  and  behaved  to  us  with  civil- 
ity. After  that  we  repaired  to  a  neighbor- 
ing island,  and  there  found  a  commodious 
harbor  where  we  repaired  the  Golden 
Hinde,  and  did  ourselves  enjoy  a  much- 
needed  rest. 

Leaving  this  place  on  the  12th  day  of 
December,  we  sailed  southwards  towards 
the  Celebes;    but  the  wind  being  against 


216  IN    THE    DAYS    OF    DRAKE. 

US,  we  drifted  about  among  a  multitude  of 
islands  mingled  with  shallows  until  the  mid- 
dle of  January.  And  now  we  met  with  an 
adventure  which  was  like  to  have  stayed 
our  further  progress  and  put  a  summary 
end  to  all  our  hopes.  For  sailing  forward 
under  a  strong  gale  we  were  one  night  sud- 
denly surprised  by  a  shock,  caused  by  our 
being  thrown  upon  a  shoal,  on  which  the 
speed  of  our  course  served  to  fix  us  very 
fast.  Upon  examination  we  found  that  the 
rock  on  which  we  had  struck  rose  perpen- 
dicularly from  the  water,  and  there  was  no 
anchorage,  nor  any  bottom  to  be  found  for 
some  distance.  On  making  this  discovery 
we  lightened  the  ship  by  throwing  into  the 
sea  a  not  inconsiderable  portion  of  her  lad- 
ing. Even  then  the  ship  seemed  hopelessly 
fast,  and  we  had  almost  given  way  to 
despair  when  we  were  on  a  sudden  relieved 
by  a  remission  of  the  wind,  which,  having 
hitherto  blown  strongly  against  that  side  of 
the  ship  which  lay  towards  the  sea,  holding 


IN   THE    DAYS    OF    DRAKE.  217 

it  upright  against  the  rock,  now  slackened, 
and  blowing  no  longer  against  our  vessel 
allowed  it  to  reel  into  deep  water,  to  our 
great  comfort  and  relief.  We  had  enjoyed 
so  little  hope  of  ever  extricating  ourselves 
from  this  perilous  position,  that  Drake  had 
caused  the  sacrament  to  be  administered  to 
us  as  if  we  had  been  on  the  point  of  death, 
and  now  that  we  were  mercifully  set  free 
we  sang  a  Te  Deum  and  went  forward  very 
cautiously,  hardly  daring  to  set  sails  lest  we 
should  chance  upon  some  reef  still  more 
dangerous. 

We  now  continued  our  voyage  without 
any  remarkable  occurrence  or  adventure, 
until  about  the  middle  of  March  we  came 
to  anchor  ofif  the  Island  of  Java.  Having 
sent  to  the  king  a  present  of  clothes  and 
silks,  we  received  from  him  in  return  a 
quantity  of  provisions;  and  on  the  follow- 
ing day  Drake  himself  went  on  shore,  and 
after  entertaining  the  king  with  music  ob- 
tained leave  from  him  to  forage  for  fresh 


218  IN    THE    DAYS    OF    DRAKE. 

food.  Here,  then,  we  remained  some  days, 
taking  in  provisions,  and  being  visited  by 
the  princes  and  head  men  of  that  country, 
and  later  by  the  king,  all  of  whom  mani- 
fested great  interest  in  us,  and  in  our  arma- 
ments and  instruments  of  navigation. 

Leaving  Java  about  the  end  of  March  we 
sailed  for  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope,  which 
we  sighted  about  the  middle  of  June.  Dur- 
ing all  that  time  we  met  with  no  very  re- 
markable adventure;  nevertheless,  because 
we  were  sailing  through  seas  which  no  En- 
glishman had  ever  previously  traversed 
there  was  not  a  day  which  did  not  present 
some  feature  of  interest  to  us,  or  add  to 
our  knowledge  of  those  strange  parts  of 
the  world.  To  me,  and  to  such  of  my  com- 
panions as  had  suffered  with  me  in  the  dun- 
geons of  the  Inquisition  or  on  the  deck  of 
the  galleon,  this  voyage  was  as  a  glimpse  of 
Paradise.  For  we  were  treated  with  the  ut- 
most kindness  and  consideration  by  Drake 
and  his  men,  and  they  would  not  sufifer  us 


IN    THE    DAYS    OP    DRAKE.  219 

to  undertake  anything  in  the  shape  of  work 
until  our  wounds  were  fairly  healed  and  our 
strength  recruited.  To  those  of  us  who 
had  suffered  so  bitterly  that  our  strength 
was  well-nigh  departed,  this  welcome  reUef 
was  very  grateful.  As  for  me,  on  discover- 
ing my  condition  I  was  rated  with  Drake 
and  his  officers,  and  with  them  did  spend 
many  exceeding  pleasant  hours,  listening  to 
their  marvelous  adventures  and  stories  of 
fights  with  our  old  enemies,  the  Spaniards. 
But  Pharaoh,  hating  to  do  naught,  applied 
for  a  rating,  and  so  they  made  him  boat- 
swain's mate,  and  thenceforth  he  was 
happy,  and  seemed  quickly  to  forget  the 
many  privations  and  discomforts  which  he 
and  I  had  undergone. 

So  on  the  third  week  of  September,  1580, 
we  came  to  Plymouth  Sound,  and  once 
more  looked  upon  English  land  and  En- 
glish faces.  And  this  we  did  with  such 
thankfulness  and  rejoicing  as  you  cannot 
conceive.    As  for  Drake  and  his  men,  they 


220  IN   THE    DAYS   OP    DRAKE. 

had  been  away  two  years  and  some  ten 
months,  and  in  that  time  had  taken  their 
ships  round  the  world.  And  because  they 
were  the  first  EngHshmen  that  had  ever 
done  this,  there  was  such  ringing  of  bells, 
and  lighting  of  bonfires,  and  setting  up  of 
feasts  and  jollities  as  had  never  been  known 
in  England.  From  the  queen  to  the  mean- 
est hind  there  was  nobody  that  did  not  join 
in  the  general  rejoicing.  Wherefore,  at 
Plymouth,  where  we  landed,  there  were 
great  stirrings,  and  men  clung  around  us 
to  hear  our  marvelous  tales  and  adventures. 
And  as  for  Drake  himself,  the  queen  soon 
afterwards  made  him  a  knight  on  the  deck 
of  the  Golden  Hinde;  and  so  he  became  Sir 
Francis,  and  thereafter  did  many  wonderful 
deeds  which  are  set  forth  in  the  chronicles 
of  that  time. 

Now,  I  no  sooner  set  foot  upon  English 
soil  than  I  w'as  immediately  consumed  with 
impatience  to  go  home  to  Beechcot,  and 
therefore  I  sought  out  Drake  and  begged 
him  to  let  me  begone. 


IN   THE    DAYS    OF    DRAKE.  221 

"Why,"  quoth  he,  "knowing  your  story 
as  I  do.  Master  Salkeld,  I  make  no  wonder 
that  you  should  be  in  some  haste  to  return 
to  your  own  friends.  I  pray  God  that  you 
may  find  all  well  with  them." 

Then  he  generously  pressed  upon  me  a 
sum  of  money  in  gold,  wherewith  to  fit  my- 
self out  for  the  journey  and  defray  my  ex- 
penses on  the  way ;  and  for  this  kindness  I 
was  deeply  grateful,  seeing  that  I  was 
utterly  penniless,  and  owed  the  very  gar- 
ments I  then  wore  to  the  charity  of  one  of 
his  officers.  So  I  said  farewell  to  him  and 
his  company,  and  begged  them  to  remem- 
ber me  if  we  should  meet  no  more,  and  then 
I  went  to  find  Pharaoh  Nanjulian. 

"Pharaoh,"  said  I,  when  I  came  upon  him 
on  the  deck  of  the  Golden  Hinde,  "I  am 
going  home." 

He  pushed  back  his  cap  and  scratched 
his  head  and  looked  at  me. 

"Aye,"  he  said,  "I  supposed  it  would  be 
so,  master.    As  for  me,  I  have  no  home  to 


222  IN   THE    DAYS    OF    DRAKE. 

go  to.  My  mother  is  dead  and  buried  in 
Marazion  churchyard,  and  I  have  neither 
kith  nor  kin  in  the  wide  world." 

"Come  with  me  to  Beechcot,"  said  I,  "you 
shall  abide  there  for  the  rest  of  your  days 
in  peace  and  plenty." 

But  he  shook  his  head. 

"Nay,  master,"  he  answered,  "that  would 
never  do.  I  am  naught  but  a  rough  sea- 
dog,  and  I  should  be  too  big  and  savage 
for  a  quiet  life.  Besides,  yon  constable  of 
yours  would  be  forever  at  my  heels,  fearing 
lest  I  should  break  the  peace  again." 

"There  shall  no  man  harm  you  if  you  will 
come  with  me,"  said  I.  "Come  and  be  my 
man." 

"Nay,  master,  not  so.  Bom  and  bred  to 
the  sea  I  was,  and  to  the  sea  I  will  cleave. 
Besides,  I  am  Francis  Drake's  man  now, 
and  with  him  I  shall  see  rare  ventures. 
Already  there  is  talk  of  an  expedition 
against  the  Spaniards.  That  is  the  life  for 
me. 


IN   THE    DAYS    OP    DRAKE.  223 

So  there  was  no  more  to  be  said,  and  I 
gave  him  my  hand  sorrowfully,  for  he  had 
proved  a  true  friend. 

"Good-bye,  then,  Pharaoh  Nanjulian." 

"Good-bye,  master.  We  have  seen  some 
rare  ventures  together.  I  thank  God  for 
bringing  us  safely  out  of  them." 

"Amen !  I  shall  not  forget  them  or  thee. 
And  God  grant  we  may  meet  again." 

So  we  pressed  each  other's  hands  with 
full  hearts,  and  I  went  away  and  left  him 
gazing  after  me. 


224         IN   THE   DAYS   OF   DRAKE. 


CHAPTER   XX. 
BEECHCOT  ONCE  MORE. 

Because  it  was  autumn,  I  found  some 
slight  difficulty  in  traveling  across  country 
from  Plymouth  to  Beechcot,  and  it  accord- 
ingly was  several  days  before  I  reached 
York  and  entered  upon  the  final  stage  of 
my  journey.  At  Plymouth  I  had  bought  a 
stout  horse,  and  pushed  forward,  mounted 
in  creditable  fashion,  to  Exeter,  and  from 
thence  to  Bristol,  where  I  struck  into  the 
Midlands  and  made  for  Derby  and  .Shef- 
field. It  took  me  a  fortnight  to  reach  York, 
and  there,  my  horse  being  well-nigh  spent, 
though  I  had  used  him  with  mercy,  I  ex- 
changed him  for  a  cob,  which  was  of  stout 
build,  and  good  enough  to  carry  me  over 
the  thirty  miles  which  yet  remained  of  my 
journey. 

Now,  as  I  drew  near  the  old  place,  in  the 


IN   THE    DAYS    OF    DRAKE.  226 

twilight  of  a  dull  October  afternoon,  my 
heart  beat  within  my  breast  as  if  it  would 
suffocate  me.  I  had  been  away  two  years, 
and  had  gone  under  circumstances  of  the 
strangest  character.  Those  whom  I  had 
left  behind  had  probably  long  since  given 
me  up  as  dead.  Worse  than  that — how  did 
I  know  what  malicious  story  might  not 
have  been  invented  and  set  forth  by  my 
cousin  Jasper  as  to  my  disappearance? 
Well,  the  time  was  now  at  hand  when  all 
should  be  explained.  But  yet — what 
changes  might  there  not  be?  I  dreaded  to 
think  of  them.  I  might  find  my  good  uncle 
dead,  Jasper  in  possession,  my  sweetheart 
married — but  nay,  that  seemed  hardly  to  be 
believed.  And  yet  if  she  thought  me  dead? 
Thus  I  went  forward,  my  heart  torn  by 
many  conflicting  emotions.  Then  I  began 
to  think  of  the  changes  that  had  taken  place 
in  me.  Two  years  ago  I  had  set  out  a  light- 
hearted,  careless  lad,  full  of  confidence  and 
ignorance,  knowing  naught  of  the  world 

15 


226  IN    THE    DAYS    OF   DRAKE. 

nor  of  its  cruelties.  Now  I  came  back  a 
man,  full  of  strange  experiences,  my  mind 
charged  with  many  terrible  memories,  my 
body  bearing  witness  of  the  sufferings  and 
privations  which  I  had  undergone.  It  was 
not  the  old  Humphrey  Salkeld  that  rode 
down  Beechcot  village  street.  Nay,  it  was 
not  even  the  old  Humphrey  Salkeld  in 
looks.  Stopping  a  few  hours  at  the  inn  in 
York  I  had  examined  myself  in  a  mirror, 
and  had  decided  that  it  would  be  hard  work 
for  my  old  friends  to  recognize  me.  I  had 
grown  an  inch  or  two,  my  face  was  seamed 
and  wrinkled,  and  wore  a  strange,  grim, 
wearied  look,  my  beard  was  a  good  three 
inches  long,  and  my  mouth  covered  by  a 
moustache.    Changed  I  was  indeed. 

I  rode  up  to  the  door  of  the  inn  at  Beech- 
cot,  where  I  had  first  seen  Pharaoh  Nan- 
julian,  and  called  loudly  for  the  host. 
There  was  no  one  about  the  door  of  the  inn, 
but  presently  Geoffrey  Scales,  looking  no 
different  to  what  he  did  when  I  had  last 


IN    THE    DAYS    OF    DRAKE.  227 

seen  him,  came  bustling  along  the  sanded 
passage  with  his  lantern,  and  turned  the 
light  full  on  my  face.  I  trembled,  and 
could  scarce  control  my  voice  as  I  spoke  to 
him ;  but  I  soon  saw  that  he  did  not  recog- 
nize me. 

"How  far  is  it  to  Scarborough,  master?" 
I  inquired. 

"A  good  twenty  miles,  sir,  and  a  bad 
road." 

"What,  are  there  thieves  on  it?" 

"There  are  highwaymen,  sir,  and  ruts, 
which  is  worse;  and  as  for  mud — there, 
your  honor  would  be  lost  in  it." 

"Then  I  had  better  stay  here  for  the 
night,  eh?" 

"Much  better,  if  your  honor  pleases." 

So  I  dismounted  and  bade  him  take  my 
cob  round  to  his  stable,  and  followed  him 
myself  to  hear  more  news. 

"What  place  is  this?"  I  inquired. 

"Beechcot,  sir — a  village  of  the  Wolds." 

"And  who  owns  it,  landlord?" 


228  IN   THE   DAYS    OF   DRAKE. 

"Sir  Thurstan  Salkeld,  sir." 
"Is  he  alive  and  well,  landlord?" 
Now,  whether  it  was  my  voice  or  the  un- 
wonted agitation  in  it  that  attracted  his  at- 
tention, I  know  not,  but  certain  it  is  that 
when  I  asked  this  question  Geoffrey  Scales 
held  up  his    light   to    my    face,  and  after 
anxiously  peering  therein  for  a  moment, 
cried  out  loudly: 

"Marry,  I  knew  it!  'Tis  Master  Hum- 
phrey, come  home  again,  alive  and  well!" 
and  therewith  he  would  have  rushed  away 
to  rouse  the  whole  village  if  I  had  not 
stayed  him. 

"Hush!  Geoffrey,"  I  said.  "It  is  I,  true 
enough,  and  I  am  well  enough,  but  prithee 
keep  quiet  awhile,  for  I  do  not  wish  anyone 
to  know  that  I  have  returned  for  a  season. 
Tell  me  first  how  is  my  uncle  and  Mistress 
Rose.  Are  they  well,  Geoffrey?  Quick!" 
"Oh,  Master  Humphrey,"  quoth  he, 
"what  a  turn  you  have  given  me!  Yes, 
sir,  yes;  your  uncle,  good  man,    is  well. 


IN   THE    DAYS    OF    DRAKE.  229 

though  he  hath  never  been  the  same  man 
since  you  disappeared,  Master  Humphrey, 
And  as  for  Mistress  Rose,  'tis  just  the  same 
sweet  maiden  as  ever,  and  hath  grieved  for 
you  mightily.  But  what  a  to-do  there  will 
be.  Master  Humphrey!  Prithee,  let  me  go 
and  tell  all  the  folk." 

"Not  now,  Geofifrey,  on  thy  life.  Let  me 
first  see  my  sweetheart  and  my  uncle,  and 
then  I  will  cause  the  great  bell  at  the  manor 
to  be  rung,  and  you  shall  take  it  for  a  signal 
and  shall  tell  who  you  Hke." 

So  he  promised  to  obey  me,  and  I  left 
him  and  took  my  way  towards  the  vicarage, 
for  my  heart  longed  sore  for  the  presence 
of  my  sweetheart. 

Now,  as  I  came  up  to  the  front  of  the 
house  there  was  a  light  burning  in  the  par- 
lor, and  I  stole  up  to  the  window  and 
looked  in,  and  saw  Rose  busy  with  her 
needle.  Fair  and  sweet  she  was,  aye, 
sweeter,  I  think,  than  ever ;  but  it  was  easy 
to  see  that  she  had  sorrowed,  and  that  the 


230  IN   THE    DAYS    OF    DRAKE. 

sorrow  had  left  its  mark  upon  her,  I  had 
always  remembered  her  in  my  trials  and 
torments  as  the  merry,  laughing  maiden, 
that  had  flown  hither  and  thither  like  a 
spirit  of  spring;  now  I  saw  her  a  woman, 
sweet  and  lovely,  but  with  a  touch  of  sad- 
ness about  her  that  I  knew  had  come  there 
because  of  me, 

I  went  round  to  the  door  and  tapped 
softly  upon  it.  Presently  came  Rose,  bear- 
ing a  candle,  and  opened  it  to  my  knock, 
and  looked  out  upon  me,  I  drew  farther 
away  into  the  darkness. 

"Is  this  the  abode  of  Master  Timotheus 
Herrick?"  I  asked, 

"Yes,  sir,"  she  answered,  "but  he  is  not  in 
at  this  moment.  You  will  find  him  at  the 
church,  where  he  has  gone  to  read  the 
evening  service," 

"I  had  a  message  for  his  daughter," 
said  I. 

"I  am  his  daughter,  sir.  What  message 
have  you  for  me?" 


IN  THE  DAYS  OF  DRAKE.  231 

"I  have  come  from  sea,"  I  answered.  "It 
is  a  message  from  one  you  know." 

"From  one  I  know — at  sea?  But  I  know 
no  one  at  sea.  Oh,  sir,  what  is  it  you  would 
tell  me?" 

"Let  me  come  in,"  I  said;  and  she  turned 
and  led  the  way  into  the  parlor,  and  set 
down  the  candle  and  looked  steadily  at  me. 
And  then  she  suddenly  knew  me,  and  in 
another  instant  I  had  her  in  my  arms,  and 
her  face  was  upon  my  breast,  and  all  the 
woes  and  sorrows  of  my  captivity  were  for- 
gotten. 

"Humphrey!"  she  cried.  "O,  thank  God 
— thank  God !  My  dear,  my  dear,  it  is  you, 
is  it  not?  Am  I  dreaming — shall  I  wake 
presently  to  find  you  gone?" 

"Never  again,  sweetheart,  never  again! 
I  am  come  back  indeed — somewhat 
changed,  it  is  true,  but  still  your  true  and 
faithful  lover." 

"And  I  thought  you  were  dead!  O  my 
poor  Humphrey,  where  have  you  been  and 


232  IN  THE  DAYS  OF  DRAKE. 

what  has  been  done  to  you?  Yes,  you  are 
changed — you  have  suffered,  have  you 
not?" 

"More  than  I  could  wish  my  worst  en- 
emy to  suffer,"  I  answered.  "But  I  forget 
it  all  when  I  look  at  you,  Rose.  Oh,  sweet- 
heart, if  you  knew  how  I  have  longed  for 
this  moment!'' 

And  then,  hand  in  hand,  we  kneeled 
down  together  and  thanked  God  for  all  his 
goodness,  and  for  the  marvelous  mercy 
with  which  he  had  brought  us  through  this 
time  of  sore  trouble.  And  on  our  knees 
we  kissed  each  other  solemnly,  and  so 
sealed  our  reunion,  and  blotted  out  all  the 
bitterness  of  the  past  from  our  hearts,  so 
that  there  was  nothing  left  there  but  mem- 
ories, sad  indeed,  but  no  longer  painful. 

"And  now,"  said  Rose,  "tell  me,  Hum- 
phrey, where  you  have  been  and  how  it  was 
you  went  away.  Oh,  if  you  knew  how  we 
have  sorrowed  for  you.'' 

"First  tell  me,  Rose,  how  is  my  uncle?" 


IN  THE  DAYS  OF  DRAKE.  233 

"He  is  well,  Humphrey,  but  he  has 
mourned  for  you  ever  since  Jasper  came 
home  and  told  us  of  your  death." 

"Ah !  Jasper  came  home  and  told  you  of 
my  death,  did  he?  And  by  what  manner  of 
death  did  I  die,  according  to  Master 
Jasper?" 

"He  said  you  were  drowned  at  Scarbor- 
ough, in  coming  from  some  vessel  where 
you  and  he  had  been  paying  a  visit  at  night 
to  the  captain." 

"And  did  no  one  doubt  him,  Rose? 
Were  there  no  inquiries  made?" 

"I  doubted  him,  Humphrey.  I  felt  sure 
there  was  some  strange  mystery,  but  how 
could  I  find  it  out?  And  what  could  be 
done — they  could  not  drag  Scarborough 
Bay  for  your  body.  Humphrey,  did  Jasper 
play  some  trick  upon  you — did  he  get  you 
out  of  the  way?" 

"He  did,  Rose.  Yea,  he  got  me  out  of 
the  way  so  well  that  I  have  been  right 
round  the  world  since  last  I  set  foot  in 


234  IN  THE  DAYS  OF  DRAKE. 

Beechcot.  Think  of  that,  my  dear.  Right 
round  the  world !  I  have  seen  Mexico  and 
the  Pacific  and  Java  and  the  Celebes  and 
Africa,  and  I  know  not  what,  and  here  I 
am  again." 

"But  you  have  sufifered,  Humphrey? 
Where — and  how?" 

So  I  told  her  very  briefly  of  what  had 
happened  to  me  in  the  cells  of  the  Inquisi- 
tion, and  as  I  spoke,  her  sweet  face  was 
filled  with  compassion  and  her  eyes  were 
bright  with  tears,  and  she  held  my  hands 
tightly  clasped  in  her  own  as  if  she  would 
never  let  them  go  again. 

"Can  such  things  be?"  she  asked.  "Oh, 
why  God  does  allow  them  I  cannot  under- 
stand.    My  poor  Humphrey!" 

"Naught  but  God's  help  could  have 
brought  us  through  them,  dear  heart,"  I 
answered.  "And,  indeed,  I  think  naught 
of  them  now,  and  would  cheerfully  face 
them  again  if  I  thought  they  would  cause 
you  to  love  me  more." 


IN  THE  DAYS  OP  DRAKE.  235 

But  she  answered  that  that  was  impossi- 
ble, and  scolded  me  very  prettily  for  think- 
ing of  such  a  thing. 

And  then  came  Master  Timotheus  back 
from  reading  prayers,  and  entered  the  par- 
lor, carrying  a  great  folio  in  his  hand  and 
blinking  at  us  through  his  big  spectacles. 
And  when  he  saw  me,  he  stopped  and 
stared. 

"Here  is  a  visitor,  father,"  said  Rose. 
"Look  closely  at  him — do  you  not  know 
him?" 

But  the  good  man,  taking  my  hand  in 
his  own,  did  stare  at  me  hard  and  long  ere 
he  discovered  me,  and  then  he  fell  upon 
my  neck  and  embraced  me  heartily  and 
wept  with  joy. 

"Of  a  truth,"  said  he,  "I  might  have 
known  that  it  was  thee,  Humphrey,  for  two 
reasons.  First,  I  have  been  of  an  uncom- 
monly light-hearted  nature  all  this  day,  and 
did  once  detect  myself  in  the  act  of  singing 
a  merry  song;  and  secondly,  I  saw  on  en- 


236  IN  THE  DAYS  OF  DRAKE. 

tering  the  parlor  that  Rose's  face  was 
brighter  than  it  hath  been  since  last  we  saw 
thee." 

Then  he  laid  his  hand  on  my  head  and 
blessed  me,  and  thanked  God  for  sending 
me  home  again;  and  he  shed  more  tears, 
and  was  fain  to  take  off  his  spectacles  and 
polish  them  anew.  And  he  would  have  had 
me  sup  with  them,  but  on  hearing  that  I 
had  not  yet  seen  my  uncle  he  bade  me  go 
to  him  at  once,  so  I  said  farewell  for  that 
time  and  took  my  way  to  the  manor. 


IN  THE  DAYS  OF  DRAKE.  287 


CHAPTER    XXI. 

HOW  THEY  RANG  THE  BELLS  AT  BEECH- 
COT  CHURCH. 

As  I  walked  across  from  the  vicarage  to 
the  manor  house,  the  moon  came  out  in 
the  autumn  evening  sky  and  lighted  the 
landscape  with  a  brightness  that  was  little 
short  of  daylight.  I  stood  for  a  few  mo- 
ments at  the  vicarage  gate  admiring  the 
prospect.  Far  away  to  the  eastward  rose 
the  Wolds,  dark  and  unbroken,  different 
indeed  from  the  giant  bulk  of  Orizaba,  but 
far  more  beautiful  to  me.  Beneath  them 
lay  the  village  of  Beechcot,  with  its  farm- 
steads and  cottages  casting  black  shadows 
upon  the  moonlit  meadow,  and  here  and 
there  a  rushlight  burning  dimly  in  the  win- 
dows. I  had  kept  that  scene  in  my  mind's 
eye  many  a  time  during  my  recent  tribula- 


238  IN  THE  DAYS  OF  DRAKE. 

tions,  and  had  wondered  if  ever  I  should 
see  it  again.  Now  that  I  did  see  it,  it  was 
far  more  beautiful  than  I  had  ever  known 
it  or  imagined  it  to  be,  for  it  meant  home, 
and  love,  and  peace  after  much  sorrow. 

My  path  led  me  through  the  churchyard. 
There  the  moonlight  fell  bright  and  clear 
on  the  silent  mounds  and  ghostly  tomb- 
stones. By  the  chancel  I  paused  for  a  mo- 
ment to  glance  at  the  monument  which  Sir 
Thurstan  had  long  since  erected  to  my 
father  and  mother's  memory.  It  was  light 
enough  to  read  the  inscription,  and  also  to 
see  that  a  new  one  had  been  added  to  it. 
Wondering  what  member  of  our  family  was 
dead,  I  went  nearer  and  examined  the  stone 
more  carefully.  Then  I  saw  that  the  new 
inscription  was  in  memory  of  myself! 

I  have  never  heard  of  a  man  reading  his 
own  epitaph,  and  truly  it  gave  me  many 
curious  feelings  to  stand  there  and  read  of 
myself  as  a  dead  man.  And  yet  I  had  been 
dead  to  all  of  them  for  more  than  two  years. 


IN  THE  DAYS  OP  DRAKE.  23» 

"And  of  Humphrey  Salkeld,  only  son  of 
the  above  Richard  Salkeld  and  his  wife 
Barbara,  who  was  drowned  at  Scarbor- 
ough, October,  1578,  to  the  great  grief  and 
sorrow  of  his  uncle,  Thurstan  Salkeld, 
Knight." 

"So  I  am  dead  and  yet  alive,"  I  said,  and 
laughed  gayly  at  the  notion.  "If  that  is  so, 
there  are  some  great  surprises  in  store  for 
more  than  one  in  this  parish.  And  no  one 
will  be  more  surprised  than  my  worthy 
cousin,  but  he  will  be  the  only  person  that 
is  sorry  to  see  me.  Oh,  for  half  an  hour 
with  him  alone!" 

At  that  very  moment  Jasper  was  coming 
to  meet  me.     I  knew  it  not,  nor  did  he. 

Between  the  churchyard  and  the  manor- 
house  of  Beechcot  there  is  a  field  called  the 
Duke's  Garth,  and  across  this  runs  a  foot- 
path. As  I  turned  away  from  reading  my 
own  epitaph,  I  saw  a  figure  advancing 
along  this  path  and  making  for  the  church- 
yard.    It  was  the  figure  of  a  man,  and  he 


240  IN  THE  DAYS  OF  DRAKE. 

was  singing  some  catch  or  song  softly  to 
himself.  I  recognized  the  voice  at  once. 
It  was  Jasper's.  I  drew  back  into  the 
shadow  cast  by  the  buttress  of  the  chancel 
and  waited  his  coming.  We  were  going  to 
settle  our  account  once  and  forever. 

He  came  lightly  over  the  stile  which 
separates  the  garth  from  the  churchyard, 
and  was  making  rapid  strides  towards  the 
vicarage  when  I  stopped  him. 

"Jasper,"  I  said,  speaking  in  a  deep  voice 
and  concealing  myself  in  the  shadow. 
"Jasper  Stapleton." 

He  stopped  instantly,  and  stood  looking 
intently  towards  where  I  stood. 

"Who  calls  me?"  he  said. 

"I,  Jasper, — thy  cousin,  Humphrey  Sal- 
keld." 

I  could  have  sworn  that  he  started  and 
began  to  tremble.  But  suddenly  he 
laughed. 

"Dead  men  call  nobody,"  said  he.  "You 
are  some  fool  that  is  trying  to  frighten  me. 
Come  out,  sirrah!" 


IN  THE  DAYS  OF  DRAKE.  241 

And  he  drew  near.  I  waited  till  he  was 
close  by,  and  then  I  stepped  into  the  moon- 
light, which  fell  full  and  clear  on  my  face. 
He  gave  a  great  cry,  and  lifting  up  his  arm 
as  if  to  ward  off  a  blow  fell  back  a  pace  or 
two  and  stood  staring  at  me. 

"Humphrey!''  he  cried. 

"None  other,  cousin.  The  dead,  you  see, 
sometimes  come  to  life  again.  And  I- am 
very  much  alive,  Jasper." 

He  stood  still  staring  at  me,  and  clutch- 
ing his  heart  as  if  his  breath  came  with 
difficulty. 

"What  have  you  to  say,  Jasper?"  I  asked 
at  length. 

"We — we  thought  you  were  drowned," 
he  gasped  out.  "There  is  an  inscription  on 
your  father's  tombstone." 

"Liar!"  I  said.  "You  know  I  was  not 
drowned.  You  know  that  you  contrived 
that  I  should  be  carried  to  Mexico.  Tell 
me  no  more  lies,  cousin.  Let  us  for  once 
have  the  plain  truth.  Why  did  you  treat 
me  as  you  did  at  Scarborough?" 

16 


242  IN  THE  DAYS  OF  DRAKE. 

"Because  you  stood  'twixt  me  and  the 
inheritance,"  he  muttered  sullenly, 

"And  so  for  the  sake  of  a  few  acres  of 
land  and  a  goodly  heritage  you  would  con- 
demn one  who  had  never  harmed  you  to 
horrors  such  as  you  cannot  imagine?"  I 
said.  "Look  at  me,  Jasper.  Even  in  this 
light  it  is  not  difficult  to  see  how  I  am 
changed.  I  have  gone  through  such  woes 
and  torments  as  you  would  scarcely  credit. 
I  have  been  in  the  hands  of  devils  in  human 
shape,  and  they  have  so  worked  their  will 
upon  me  that  there  is  hardly  an  inch  of  my 
body  that  is  not  marked  and  scarred. 
That  was  thy  doing,  Jasper, — thine  and  thy 
fellow-villain's.  Dost  know  what  happened 
to  him?" 

"No,"  he  whispered,  "what  of  him?" 

"I  saw  him  hanged  to  his  own  yard-arm 
in  the  Pacific  Ocean,  Jasper,  and  he  went 
to  his  own  place  with  the  lives  of  many  an 
innocent  man  upon  his  black  soul.  Take 
care  you  do  not  follow  him.    Shame  upon 


IN  THE  DAYS  OF  DRAKE.  243 

you,  cousin,  for  the  trick  you  played  me!" 

"You  came  between  me  and  the  girl  I 
loved,"  he  said  fiercely.  "All  is  fair  in  love 
and  war." 

"Coward!"  I  said.  "And  liar,  too!  I 
never  came  between  her  and  thee,  for  she 
had  never  a  word  to  give  such  a  black- 
hearted villain  as  thou  hast  proved  thyself. 
And  now,  what  is  to  prevent  me  from  tak- 
ing my  revenge  upon  thee,  Jasper?'' 

"This,"  he  said,  very  suddenly,  whipping 
out  his  rapier.  "This,  Master  Humphrey. 
Home  you  have  come  again,  worse  luck, 
and  have  no  doubt  done  your  best  to  injure 
me  in  more  quarters  than  one,  but  you  shall 
not  live  to  enjoy  either  land,  or  title,  or 
sweetheart,  for  you  shall  die  here  and  now." 

And  with  that  he  came  pressing  upon  me 
with  a  sudden  fury  that  was  full  of  murder- 
ous intent. 

Now  I  had  no  weapon  by  me  save  a  stout 
cudgel  which  I  had  cut  from  a  coppice  by 
the  wayside  that  morning,  and  this  you 


244  IN  THE  DAYS  OF  DRAKE. 

would  think  was  naught  when  set  against  a 
rapier.  Nevertheless  I  made  such  play 
with  it,  that  presently  I  knocked  Jasper's 
weapon  clean  out  of  his  hand  so  that  he 
could  not  recover  it.  And  after  that  I 
seized  him  by  the  throat  and  beat  with  my 
cudgel  until  he  roared  and  begged  for 
mercy,  beseeching  me  not  to  kill  him. 

"Have  no  fear,  cousin,"  said  I,  still  lay- 
ing on  to  him,  "I  will  not  kill  thee,  for  I 
would  have  thee  repent  of  all  thy  mis- 
deeds." 

And  with  that  I  gave  him  two  or  three 
sound  cuts  and  then  flung  him  from  me 
against  the  wall,  where  he  lay  groaning  and 
cursing  me. 

After  that  I  saw  Jasper  Stapleton  no 
more.  He  never  showed  his  face  in  Beech- 
cot  again,  and  in  a  few  days  his  mother, 
Dame  Barbara,  disappeared  also;  and  so 
they  vanished  out  of  my  life,  and  I  was  glad 
of  it,  for  they  had  worked  me  much  mis- 
chief. 


IN  THE  DAYS  OF  DRAKE.  245 

When  I  reached  the  manor-house  I  let 
myself  in  by  a  secret  way  that  I  knew  of 
and  went  straight  to  the  great  hall,  where 
sat  my  uncle,  Sir  Thurstan,  wrapped  in 
cloaks  and  rugs,  before  a  great  fire  of  wood. 
He  was  all  alone,  and  hearing  my  step  he 
half  turned  his  head. 

"Is  that  Jasper?"  he  inquired. 

"Nay,  sir,"  said  I.  "It  is  I— Humph^ey 
— and  I  am  come  home  again." 

And  I  went  forward  and  kneeled  down 
before  him  and  put  my  hands  on  his  knees. 

For  a  moment  he  stared  at  me  as  men 
stare  at  ghosts,  then  he  gave  a  great  sob  of 
delight,  stretched  out  his  arms,  put  them 
about  my  neck,  and  wept  over  me  like  a 
woman. 

"Oh  lad,  lad!"  said  he.  "If  thou  didst 
but  know  how  this  old  heart  did  grieve  for 
thy  sake.  And  thou  art  here,  well  and 
strong,  and  I  did  cause  thy  name  to  be 
graven  on  thy  parents'  tombstone!" 

"Never  mind,  sir,"  said  I,  "we  can  cut  it 


246  IN  THE  DAYS  OF  DRAKE. 

out  again.  Anyway  I  am  not  dead,  but  I 
have  seen  some  rare  and  terrible  adven- 
tures." 

"Sit  thyself  down  at  my  side,"  quoth  he, 
"and  tell  me  all  about  them.  Alive  and 
well — yes,  and  two  inches  taller,  as  I  live! 
Well,  I  thank  God  humbly.  But  thou  art 
hungry,  poor  boy, — what  ho!  where  are 
those  rascals?  Call  for  them,  Humphrey, 
— thou  must  be  famished." 

"All  in  good  time,  sir,"  said  I,  and  went 
over  to  the  rope  which  led  to  the  great  bell 
and  pulled  it  vigorously,  so  that  the  clangor 
filled  the  park  below  with  stirring  sound. 
And  Geoffrey  Scales,  waiting  impatiently 
at  the  inn,  heard  it  and  ran  round  with  the 
news,  and  they  rang  the  church  bells,  and 
every  soul  in  Beechcot  that  could  walk 
came  hurrying  to  the  manor  and  would 
have  audience  of  me  in  the  great  hall. 

Thus  did  I  come  home  again.  And  hav- 
ing told  my  story  to  my  uncle.  Sir  Thurs- 
tan,  and  to  Master  Timotheus  Herrick,  we 


IN  THE  DAYS  OF  DRAKE.  247 

agreed  that  for  the  present  we  would  leave 
Jasper  Stapleton's  name  out  of  it.  But 
somehow,  most  likely  because  Jasper  and 
his  evil-tongued  mother  disappeared,  the 
truth  got  out,  and  ere  long  everybody  knew 
my  story  from  beginning  to  end. 

Within  a  few  weeks  of  my  home-coming 
Rose  and  I  were  married  in  Beechcot 
church,  and  again  the  bells  rang  out  mer- 
rily. Never  had  bridegroom  a  sweeter 
bride;  never  had  husband  a  truer  or  nobler 
wife.  I  say  it  after  fifty  years  of  blessed 
companionship,  and  in  my  heart  I  thank 
God  for  the  delights  which  he  hath  given 
me  in  her. 

And  now  I  have  brought  my  history  to  a 
close.  Yet  there  is  one  matter  which  I 
must  speak  of  before  I  say  farewell  to  you. 

It  is  about  twenty  years  since  one  of  my 
servants  came  to  me  one  summer  evening 
and  said  that  an  old  man  stood  at  my  door 
waiting  to  see  me.  I  followed  him  pre- 
sently, and  there  saw  a  tall,  white-haired, 


248  IN  THE  DAYS  OF  DRAKE. 

white-bearded  figure,  dressed  in  a  rough 
seaman's  dress  and  leaning  upon  a  staff. 
He  looked  at  me  and  smiled,  and  then  I 
saw  that  it  was  Pharaoh  Nanjulian. 

"You  have  not  forgotten  me,  master?"  he 
said. 

"Forgotten  thee!  May  God  forget  me  if 
ever  I  forget  thee,  my  old,  true  friend!"  I 
said,  and  I  led  him  in  and  made  him  wel- 
come as  a  king  to  my  house  and  to  all  that 
I -had.  And  with  me  he  lived,  an  honored 
guest  and  friend,  for  ten  years  longer,  when 
he  died,  being  then  a  very  old  man  of  near 
one  hundred  years.  And  him  I  still  mourn 
with  true  sorrow  and  affection,  for  his  was  a 
mighty  heart,  and  it  had  been  knit  to  mine 
by  those  bonds  of  sorrow  which  are  scarce- 
ly less  strong  than  the  bonds  of  love. 


THE  END. 


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